In the wake of the abduction of three Indian truck drivers in Iraq two years ago, Kuwait and India are coordinating to prevent recurrence of people going to the war-torn country illegally.
"There is no such thing happening now," Kuwaiti Ambassador to India Khalaf Abass Khalaf Al-Foudari said in Delhi when referred to the July 2004 incident when the Indian truck drivers employed by a Kuwaiti company were sent to Iraq where they were kidnapped.
"The two governments (India and Kuwait) are controlling the situation now," he told PTI in an interview in Delhi.
The truck drivers were released after 41-day tough negotiations and payment of $1 million to the abductors.
After the incident, India had imposed a ban on Indians going to war-hit Iraq and had specifically requested Kuwait and Jordan, the closest neighbours of Iraq, not to allow such a practice.
Al-Foudari said India and Kuwait propose to sign agreements on labour related issues, a move that will provide major relief to lakhs of Indian expatriates in the oil-rich Sheikhdom.
"Both countries are making efforts to organise labour-related frameworks through agreements to minimise problems faced by Indian labourers," he said.
The agreement is expected to benefit over five lakh Indians who work in Kuwait, constituting the largest expatriate community in the Gulf country.
Al-Foudari insisted that Indians in Kuwait face no problems.
"There are no complaints (from the Indians in Kuwait)," he said adding, the Kuwaiti government was helping them and providing "complete protection" to them.
Hailing the contribution of Indians in Kuwait, the ambassador said the "vibrant community" plays a major role in various sectors of that country.
"They are not only in the fields of construction of public utilities, but they also play a key role in other sectors of trade, economy, industry, engineering and medicine," he said.
On exchange in the field of education, the ambassador said the number of Kuwaiti students getting education in India at present is very low in comparison to the past.
Noting that scope and standard of education in India is vast, particularly in the advanced fields of Information Technology and medicines, Al-Foudari favoured more educational and cultural agreements to increase exchanges in these fields.
Al-Foudari's comments came ahead of the six-day visit to Delhi by Kuwaiti ruler Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah during which the two countries will ink three pacts -- Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty, Agreement on Drugs and Narcotics and Agreement on Cooperation in Culture.
The two sides will explore ways to enhance cooperation in oil and petroleum sector during the visit beginning Wednesday, that will mark the first trip to Delhi by an Amir of the Gulf country in over 20 years.
