Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Wednesday made a surprise stopover at Doha on his way to Kuwait and met the country's national security advisor. Local media reports said there was no prior announcement about the foreign minister's transit halt that came in the backdrop of US-Taliban negotiations taking place in the Qatari capital

"A pleasure to meet Qatari NSA Mohamed Bin Ahmed Al Mesned. Appreciate his insights on developments in the region and beyond. Thanked him for the support and solidarity in India’s fight against Covid," tweeted Jaishankar.

Neither India nor Qatar has issued an official statement on the meeting between Jaishankar and NSA Mohamed Bin Ahmed Al Mesned, IBNS said. 
Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to Kuwait, starting Wednesday. He is carrying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message to emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah on ways to boost bilateral ties.

The minister will also thank Kuwait for supporting India in its Covid response during April-May, when the second wave of the pandemic ravaged the country, claiming thousands of lives.

Indian Navy ships transported 425 tonnes of liquid oxygen from Kuwait. It also supplied over 5,000 oxygen cylinders, 66 oxygen concentrators, 11 ventilators and other materials such as medicines, oximeters, masks and gloves to India, said a Hindustan Times report.

Kuwait is also one of India's major oil suppliers and more than 900,000 Indian expatriates live there. Jaishankar will be heading to Kenya after his Kuwait tour.(SAM)