India welcomes 'fruitful discussions' among the Gulf countries to resolve rift in region

India on Friday welcomed the recent "fruitful discussions" among the Gulf countries towards resolving the rift in their region and hoped for harmonious relations between those nations.

Responding to a media query on the statement by Kuwait Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Sabah that there has been progress in resolution of intra-GCC crisis, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "We have seen the statement from the Kuwait side that fruitful discussions have taken place towards resolving the rift in the region."

"We have also seen statements from other countries in this regard. We welcome these announcements," he said.

India shares close civilisational, economic, political and cultural ties with all the Gulf countries, Srivastava said.

"We hope for harmonious relations between all the countries in the region," he said.

According to media reports, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Sabah had said last week that "fruitful discussions have taken place in recent days to resolve the Gulf crisis".

"All parties involved in recent talks expressed their desire to find a final and lasting solution to the GCC crisis for the benefit of their people," the Kuwaiti foreign minister was quoted as saying.