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Jaishankar Pays Condolences At Kuwait Embassy On Emir’s Passing

By LokMarg 18th December 2023

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, visited the Embassy of Kuwait in Delhi Monday morning to express condolences and pay respects following the passing of Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of the State of Kuwait.

Minister Jaishankar shared his sentiments on social media, stating, “Visited the Embassy of Kuwait in Delhi today morning to express condolences and pay my respects on the passing away of His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait. The Government and people of India will always remember his notable contributions to the strengthening of our ties.”

As a mark of solidarity and friendship, Minister Jaishankar conveyed India’s condolences to the Embassy staff and signed the official condolence book. The Minister highlighted the significant contributions made by the late Amir in fostering cooperation and understanding between the two nations.

The demise of Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is widely mourned, not only within Kuwait but also by the international community

Notably, state mourning across the country on Sunday was declared by the Indian government as a mark of respect for the departed leader.

The Indian Tricolour was also flown at half-mast at all buildings of Indian high commissions, embassies, consulates and India Houses all over the world. All official entertainment activities were cancelled.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too expressed condolences saying that he is “deeply saddened” to learn about the unfortunate demise of the Emir of Kuwait.

In a post on X, PM Modi wrote, “Deeply saddened to learn about the unfortunate demise of His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. We convey our deepest condolences to the royal family, the leadership and the people of Kuwait.”

Kuwait Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah died at the age of 86 on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.

He was laid to rest in a private ceremony on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported.

The state television also broadcasted a prayer ritual at the Bilal bin Rabah mosque in Kuwait City and a burial procession to the Sulaibikhat cemetery for the emir, both of which were attended by only the royal family. (ANI)

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Embassy Of India In Kuwait, Japan, Celebrate International Day Of Yoga

By LokMarg 21st June 2023

The Indian Embassy in Japan and Kuwait observed the 9th International Day of Yoga by organizing events in Tokyo and Kuwait City respectively on Wednesday.

The official Twitter account of the Embassy of India tweeted the video of people performing Yoga and chanting ‘Om’ in Tokyo.

“The sacred Om chants reverberate across Tokyo during the celebrations of the 9th International Day of Yoga #IDY2023 organised by Embassy of India Tokyo @ICCR_Japan

#ConnectingHimalayaswithMountFuji #YogaforVasudhaivaKutumbakam”, tweeted the Embassy of India.

Whereas, Kuwait also participated in the celebration of International Day of Yoga.

The official Twitter account of the Embassy of India in Kuwait tweeted a video of the people of performing Yoga. The event was also attended by yoga trainers, enthusiasts, members of diplomatic corps, people of Kuwait and members of Indian community.

“The 9th International Yoga Day celebrations were held at Indian Embassy in Kuwait on 21 June. The event was well-attended by yoga trainers and enthusiasts, members of diplomatic corps, friends from Kuwait and members of Indian community. #IDY2023@ANI, the tweet said.

On Tuesday, the Embassy of India in Muscat, in collaboration with Visit Oman, the national travel operator and a subsidiary of Omran Group jointly released a short video titled “Soulful Yoga-Serene Oman.” This groundbreaking initiative marks the first time that India and Oman are utilizing yoga as a medium to promote tourism and spread the message of yoga’s harmony to both Omani citizens and international tourists.

In Oman, which is India’s close maritime neighbour and a close strategic partner in the Gulf region, Yoga has become very popular in recent years. The seven lakh-strong Indian community in Oman played an important role in this endeavour.

The video was made in collaboration with the Government of Oman. The Embassy of India partnered with ‘Visit Oman’, a subsidiary of Oman’s Ministry of Tourism to produce this video. (ANI)

Kuwait Saves Itself From Falling Into Guanxi Trap

By LokMarg 22nd October 2022

Kuwaiti government seems to have understood the Chinese Guanxi trap which is synonymous with bribery and corruption in China.

But its latest move of excluding Chinese-sponsored Beijing Enterprises Water Group (BEWG) from Al-Mutla’s waste water purification plant shows that the country is rectifying its past mistakes.
According to Financial Post, Guanxi is a system of mutually beneficial relationships that works as a lubricant for the wheels of the business transaction and is often synonymous with bribery and corruption in China.

Recently, Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works disqualified the BEWG’s tender for setting up a wastewater treatment plant for Al-Mutla’s sewage station. Kuwaiti Public Works administration said that the reason behind the disqualification of BEWG’s bid was based on the ground that it was earlier involved in bribing the officials to secure the Umm Al Hayman project.

After this revelation, Kuwait’s crown prince Sheikh Al-Ahmed has directed investigative agencies to nab those involved in maladministration and misdeeds, reported Financial Post.

Financial Post reported citing the ministry of Public Works’ report that the Chinese companies are indulging in malpractices for gaining an advantage to win contracts in Kuwait.

China-sponsored companies participating in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects are another manifestation of Beijing’s malafide intentions. There are widespread instances of bribery with a reported 60-85 percent of Chinese firms paying bribes to secure projects under BRI. Chinese firms are known offenders of peddling influence.

Apart from payments to lower-level bureaucrats, there have also been several notable scandals involving senior political figures receiving illegal gratification from Chinese companies, reported Financial Post.

Chinese companies are the least transparent as per Financial Post citing Transparency International’s study in 2019 based on 100 firms in 15 emerging markets. Poor business practices including delays in the completion of projects are endemic to BRI projects. Numerous Chinese firms have been debarred from World Bank and multilateral development banks for fraud and corruption including inflating costs to give bribes.

Kuwait is not the line example. In Malaysia and Kenya also the Chinese government used its Guanxi trap to gain advantages in the contracts.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ouster in May 2018 was linked to Chinese projects under BRI. China poured out the money into Malaysia’s state development fund 1 Malaysia Berhad, known as 1MDB, by inflating the cost of infrastructure projects, Financial Post reported citing Wall Street Journal.

In exchange, China received the freedom of access to major national rail and port projects in Malaysia. Whereas in Kenya, the prosecution of Chinese officials on corruption charges showed that to bypass the systemic procedure, China employed illegitimate tactics. Kenya is facing unimaginable debt resulting from a railway project that has exceeded its budget and yielded unexpectedly low results.

These case studies corroborate the widely held beliefs that China exploits countries to provide impetus to its BRI projects. To build infrastructure projects in other countries, the interested party naturally needs to go through sets of official procedures of the recipient country. However, to bypass these procedures, China indulges in corrupt practices and executes projects abroad through unsavory means, according to Financial Post. (ANI)