Exhibition, lecture focus on history of Kuwaiti-Indian ties

An exhibition and a lecture on the history of Kuwaiti-Indian relations kicked off here on Sunday as part of the 21st Qurian Cultural Festival.
The events, which focus on bilateral ties since the mid of the 18th century until Kuwait's independence, were held at the National Library of Kuwait and organized by the National Council of Culture, Arts and Literature.
The exhibition displayed many artifacts that represented the existing ties between Kuwait and India back then. They included: Indian banknotes and coins that were in circulation in Kuwait, trade documents between Kuwaiti traders and their Indian counterparts, photos that documented the many visits that were undertaken by Kuwaiti rules to India, a collection of Indian stamps and photos that showed the Indian employees that worked in Kuwait's oil industry back in the 1950s.
The lecture, meanwhile, pointed out to the deep historical connection between India and Kuwait which was evident in many archaeological findings that belonged to the Magan, Sumerian and Mesopotamia civilizations.
The lecture, chaired by Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghunaim, also touched on the political, trade, cultural ties that have been enjoyed by the two countries for more than three decades.
Trade and cultural ties were the cornerstone of the establishment of the diplomatic ties, it was said in the lecture.
India, which was also Known as the "golden bird", provided many essential items that was needed by people in the Gulf region, while the geographical location of Kuwait provided an important route of communication for India to global trade venues.
Due to the nature of trade ties, many traders from both countries chose to settle either in Kuwait or India, hence, it allowed for the development of cultural relations, it was pointed out.
To see through their businesses, many Kuwaiti traders opted to live in India and opened trade offices in Mumbai, Karachi and Kalkot, to name a few, setting up what it was known back then as a "Kuwaiti community" in India.
Many charities and projects emerged due to the presence of Kuwait in India.
As for the nature of the items that were traded between Kuwait and India, Kuwait exported dates, pearls and Arabian horses to the Indians while India provided fabrics, vessels making materials to Kuwaitis.