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The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) in Kuwait signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday for setting up the ICCR's Chair of Indian Studies for the teaching of Hindi in GUST.
Notably, the Ambassador of India to Kuwait, Dr Adarsh Swaika, signed the MoU on behalf of ICCR, along with Professor Bassam Alameddine, President of GUST, the Embassy of India in Kuwait said in a press release. Under the terms of the MoU, ICCR, in consultation with GUST, shall appoint an expert Indian academician to teach Hindi for a period of up to three years in GUST. This is ICCR's first-ever Chair of Indian Studies in Kuwait and can be considered a major step in furthering the promotion of Hindi language and India-related studies in Kuwait. A weekly Hindi radio broadcast was also launched on Kuwait National Radio in April 2024. These steps underscore the importance being attached to the Hindi language in Kuwait and is a recognition of the contribution of the large and vibrant Indian diaspora in Kuwait, the release said. Notably, Hindi is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with over 600 million speakers, making it the third most spoken language globally. Hindi's prominence extends beyond India, as it is spoken by large Indian diasporas in countries like Mauritius, Fiji, Nepal, and Trinidad and Tobago. Recognising Hindi's cultural outreach and contribution to multilingualism at the global level, the United Nations (UN) launched Hindi social media accounts on Facebook, X, and Instagram, as well as, a Hindi website of UN News in 2018. A similar chair was recently set-up in Oman in December 2023, making it the first of its kind in the Gulf region. (ANI)
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