In a touching gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met 101-year-old retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Mangal Sain Handa during his visit to Kuwait.
The meeting took place after Handa’s granddaughter Shreya Juneja took to social media platform X and requested the Prime Minister to meet her grandfather.
“Honourable request to PM @narendramodi to meet my 101-year-old Nanaji, ex-IFS officer, tomorrow in Kuwait for an interaction with the Indian diaspora. Nana @MangalSainHanda is a great admirer of yours. Details emailed to your office,” Juneja posted.
A humble request to the Honorable Prime Minister @narendramodi To meet my 101-year-old Nanaji, a former IFS officer, during tmrw’s interaction with the Indian diaspora in Kuwait. Nana @MangalSainHanda You have a great fan. Details have been emailed to your office
Copy: @PMOIndia @sjaishankaroffc— Shreya Juneja (@_ShreyaJuneja) December 20, 2024
To everyone’s delight, PM Modi responded positively, “Absolutely! I am looking forward to meeting @MangalSainHanda ji in Kuwait today.
Absolutely! I look forward to meeting you @MangalSainHanda Live in Kuwait today. https://t.co/xswtQ0tfSY
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 21, 2024
The Ministry of External Affairs noted, “The Indian community is the largest expatriate community in Kuwait. This visit will provide an opportunity to further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between India and Kuwait.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kuwait is historic, it is the first time in 43 years that an Indian Prime Minister has set foot in Kuwait. The last Indian Prime Minister to visit Kuwait was Indira Gandhi in 1981 PTI.
However, Dilip Handa, son of 101-year-old former IFS officer Mangal Sain Handa, expressed deep gratitude to Prime Minister Modi and said their meeting was a “lifetime experience”.
He revealed that PM Modi had made it a point to meet his father during his visit to Kuwait, which made the meeting even more special, according to him. ANI.
# Look | Prime Minister Narendra Modi met 101-year-old former IFS officer Mangal Sain Handa in Kuwait City.
Prime Minister Modi is on a 2-day visit to Kuwait at the invitation of the Emir of the State of Kuwait Sheikh Mesal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. This is the first visit by an Indian… pic.twitter.com/T2qpgJm422
— ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2024
Kuwait is home to a substantial Indian community, making up 21 percent of the country’s total population, with about 1 million Indians living there. Furthermore, Indian workers constitute a significant 30% of Kuwait’s total workforce, numbering around 900,000 people.
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