During Parliament’s question hour, the Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, had a barrage of questions to respond to concerning India-Gulf relations.
“India has long-standing, historic and close relations with all countries of the Gulf region. Gulf countries are major trade and investment partners for India. We also have a strong energy partnership with these countries. Besides, many Indians reside in Gulf countries,” said Singh when asked about the relations between the two nations. “India’s ‘multi-faceted’ relations with GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries continue to strengthen in all areas of cooperation, including economic, energy security, culture, strategic and people-to-people ties,” he added.
Singh was appointed as the new point person for the Gulf soon after he assumed charge as Minister of State this June. Singh has concurrent charge of consular, passports and visa work. He also deals with Overseas Indian Affairs. These areas hold vast interest in the Gulf because of a large Indian diaspora in the GCC countries, as Singh pointed out. – editor@nrifocus.com
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