Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan pitched investments in Kuwait during his two-day visit to the country, where he met Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Fahad Al Yousef Al Sabah last week, according to a post on X. He highlighted Kerala’s investment-friendly policies and sectoral project pipeline, and noted the contribution of the Malayali community Kuwait.

A senior delegation from Kuwait will visit Kerala to evaluate avenues for investment, Kuwait Times quotes Kuwait Investment Authority board member Meshal Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah as saying.

Pinarayi arrived in Abu Dhabi on Saturday for a two-day visit to pitch investments to Emirati investors, ANI reports. Vijayan’s visit to Kuwait and the UAE is part of his broader GCC outreach, having already visited Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar.

INDIA + QATAR-

India’s Labor and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya discussed employment, migration, and social development cooperation with ministers from Qatar, Russia, Romania, and Mauritius during a three-day visit to Qatar last week, DD News reports. The minister also held similar discussions with officials from multilateral institutions, including the ILO and the UN. Mandaviya highlighted India’s achievements in social welfare, noting that over 250 mn people have moved out of poverty and social-security coverage expanded from 19% in 2015 to 64% in 2025. and met with Qatar’s Social Development and Family Minister Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaim. The meetings came following Mandaviya’s participation in the World Summit for Social Development in Doha.

Sports diplomacy: Mandaviya separately pitched cooperating on sports and youth engagement with Qatari organizations, DD News reports, without providing further information.

Economic context: India-Qatar trade stood at about INR 1.17 tn (USD 14.08 bn) in FY 2023-24, driven largely by energy imports, according to government data.

INDIA + AUSTRALIA-

India and Australia are still working on fast-tracking an “early conclusion” of their Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), as Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell in Melbourne on Saturday, Press Trust of India reports. The negotiations aim to expand the partial Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement that came into force in December 2022. The renewed push comes as both countries seek to secure supply chains and counter the export disruption triggered by the US imposing 50% tariffs on Indian goods this year. India-Australia trade stood at USD 24 bn in 2024, according to Bloomberg.

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