KUWAIT: Australian senator and Minister of Tourism and International Education Richard Colbeck. —Photo by Joseph Shagra

KUWAIT: Australian senator and Minister of Tourism and International Education Richard Colbeck was on a short visit to Kuwait yesterday, where he met local and high-level officials including members of the business communities here. Before heading to Saudi Arabia, Colbeck spoke to Kuwait Times in an exclusive interview. Some excerpts:

KT: What's on the agenda of your visit to Kuwait?

Colbeck: I had a cordial meeting with the minister of education in Kuwait; he briefed me about education here. I also visited Box Hill College and the Australian College of Kuwait. We also visited the Dasman Institute for Diabetes and witnessed some of their activities. It was a quick visit but I grasped some of the issues they have here, in a warm and welcoming setting. I also had some meetings with the business community in Kuwait - really a very productive visit. From here I'll be in Saudi Arabia for a two-day visit.

KT: As minister of tourism, what are your plans for the Middle East?

Colbeck: We are going to continue to engage in this region. The Middle East region and GCC countries in particular are important aviation hubs. We have seen of these changes in global aviation and we have noticed the traffic coming from this region in and out of Australia. We have seen the changes because some of the airliners from this region have become very prominent in Australia. Tourism is booming and so we are maintaining contacts with them, with their people and the governments and companies related to the tourism industry. Business is very much on the radar of our government back home. More than 70,000 people visited from this region last year and about 4,000 of them were Kuwaitis. We would like to increase the number, especially with the products we are offering. Your summer here is quite hot, so we offer cooler weather in Australia in during that period.

KT: How large is the Arab population in Australia? Can you give a picture of their professions and businesses?

Colbeck: We have about half a million Arabs in Australia. One of our great stories of immigrants in Australia is of many Arabs who went there first to seek education, then they found the place beautiful and stayed there. Now many of them are engaged in businesses, and we have many success stories of students. I've met some of them here in Kuwait. I was very delighted to meet a student who went to Australia with no English, he studied English and got the qualification for a four-year degree. Now he's very successful - he studied in Australia for six years.

He's still very young and energetic and now he is a very good advertisement for Australia and making an impact on many people in Kuwait; he's just one of many success stories. The strength of our education system is one strength our country is proud of, and there many to be proud of. We are a very welcoming and friendly nation - we welcome everyone in our diverse, multicultural and safe environment.

KT: Arabs or Muslims are the usual targets of discrimination or blame-games when it comes to terrorism activities (throughout the world). What assurances can you give to Kuwaitis and Arab people visiting your country? Is there any legislation in Canberra protecting Muslims from discrimination?

Colbeck: We have in Australia a very strong anti-discrimination law against any prejudice, especially against members of small minorities and communities. We don't tolerate discrimination against anyone. This is already embodied in Australian culture and it's very effective. We welcome all races regardless of their beliefs and they have become part of the larger homogenous and harmonious society. They are part of Australia and they are engaged in our system. We have very good legislation and laws and we don't discriminate on the basis of religion. In fact those are the best qualities about Australia and that is why Australia is considered the best place for education and holidays.

KT: How does Australia see the situation in the Middle East with regards to issues of IS, Syria, Iraq plus the latest Saudi and Iran diplomatic break-up?

Colbeck: Fundamentally speaking, what we want to see is stability in any part of the world. Regional stability, especially in the Middle East, is very important to everyone. It affects everybody, so we think that our efforts and what we do to share and maintain law and order is necessary. At the moment we are engaged in the fight against ISIL, our troops are in the region as part of the coalition against ISIL. We are second in terms of providing them with personnel and equipment. We have surveillance aircraft and we have troops on the ground, and we are providing advice to Iraqis. We are engage because what we hope for is stability and peace in the region - it's important to everyone.

With regards to Syria, what we want is a complete resolution to the problem they are in. We are encouraged by the fact that there seem to have been high-level engagements with some countries like United States and Russia and others, so there seems to be some movement and development. Yet it reminds us that we are in a very difficult situation and we want to see a resolution as soon as possible. With regards to Iran and Saudi Arabia, the most important thing from the Australian prospective is to see stability in the region. We hope that these particular differences can be resolved as quickly as possible.

KT: What are the prospects for Australia's economy?

Colbeck: Australia's economy has registered 25 years of uninterrupted growth, with an annual growth rate of about 2.5 percent. In a global scene, it is an uncertain time, so we keep our economic settings in the right balance to ensure we maintain the growth rate. We are in the best and reasonable position compared to other economic players globally.

KT: To include the Middle East in the picture, what is Australia's economic goal here?

Colbeck: Middle East is an important trading partner in various areas. We are very keen to recommend negotiations with GCC countries when it comes to free trade agreements with negotiated agreements with China, Japan and Korea, and recently we completed negotiations with the Trans Pacific Partnership. We are still keen to develop trading relationship with other nations - we were very encouraged to hear over the weekend that negotiations between China and GCC are also recommended, so we continue to develop the links.

KT: In the education sector, you have here Box Hill College and Australian College. How will these two educational institutions boost the prospect of education in both countries? What is new and what's in store in the next five years in this sector?

Colbeck: We are very happy that we have an educational presence in this part of the world. We have Box Hill College and Australian College. I think it's a great start, and the physical presence here of these institutions helps. While we know that Kuwaitis are enjoying their time in Australia, but one of the elements is proximity in engaging students, deciding where they may go to further their education. There are a lot of great opportunities in this region; there is a strong demand of high-quality education and Australia can provide this.

We have no formal arrangements or signed agreements with Kuwait in terms of education, but we know they have a strong scholarship system and that they encourage their students to go abroad and pursue their studies. It provides a good platform for students - our job now is to work out on how we best engage with the education system here to take advantage of the settings in place.

Currently, we have about 1,500 students from Kuwait. I was the first minister to be appointed by the prime minister to focus on international education. He had noticed changes and the sector is growing rapidly, and so I am here to help and develop mechanisms that can be of help to the Australian education sector in the future.

KT: Your message to the Australian community in Kuwait.

Colbeck: It's a fantastic time to be here in Kuwait. I also met some Australians. We obviously want to continue developing our relationship, especially with Kuwait and GCC. Try the opportunities here to do business and be a part of the global business community. Seize the opportunities that exist. Thank you for the hospitality Kuwait!

By Ben Garcia