KUWAIT: Experts and specialists taking part in a major economic forum held here agreed yesterday that developing the Kuwaiti islands would lure foreign investors and bolster the national economy. They also shared the view that the projects of developing the islands and the Silk City are likely to bring about a quantum development, economic and trade shift in Kuwait, as well as contributing to fulfilling His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s desire to create of the country a world’s financial and trade hub.

The “Kuwaiti islands and the Silk City, dream and reality” forum is organized by the society of the Kuwait University teaching staff and the Chinese Embassy in Kuwait. Creating independent economic zones like Hong Kong is an effective method for attracting foreign investors and providing new jobs, head of the regional planning and development at the Chinese Comprehensive Development Institute said. He added that such zones will be subjected to special laws, and will contribute effectively to the GNP.

The goal of promoting the Kuwaiti islands and establishing independent economic zones is to develop a national investment-friendly environment to bolster the Kuwaiti economy, professor of law at the Kuwait University Dr Abdullah Al-Hayan told the forum. The proposed zones will be under state control but enjoying a special status, namely financial and administrative independence, apart from bureaucracy and centralization that drive investors away, Al-Hayan added.

The Chinese Government supports the construction of these zones, deputy head of the industrial studies department at the Renmin (People’s) University of China said. Hong Kong is a striking example, he added. The economic and social systems in Hong Kong differ from those in the Mainland, he said, noting that the island enjoys more religious and personal freedoms, as well as free press and media. He said that China supported Hong Kong in various crises such as the financial mayhem of 2008, developing a partnership based on mutual interests. On his part, the head of the Arab studies department at China’s Foreign Studies University said that the “One Belt, One Road” China launched in 2013 aims to build a new bridge for Eurasia and develop the economic corridors in Asia through capitalizing on transport routes as well as using industrial zones as basis for cooperation. — KUNA