KUWAIT: The
anticipated visit of His Highness the Premier Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad
Al-Sabah to Egypt is bound to boost already distinguished bilateral ties, said
a senior diplomat yesterday. Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah said
the two-day visit, slated for today, would significantly contribute in the
continuing evolvement of such vibrant relation, especially that it comes on the
heels of the "historic" visit by Egyptian President Abdelfattah
El-Sisi to Kuwait last August.

He underlined
that the timing of the visit was also of great significance due to "very
critical" circumstances witnessed by and with the Middle East region,
which calls for consultations and coordination between the two countries on the
highest of levels. Jarallah also stressed the visit's economic aspect, due to
the major private sector delegation accompanying His Highness the Premier to
seek business opportunities offered by its Egyptian peer. His Highness Sheikh
Jaber Al-Mubarak is expected to meet with President El-Sisi and Prime Minister
Moustafa Madbouly. He is also scheduled to sign numerous accords and
agreements.

Commercial
cooperation

Relations between
Kuwait and Egypt have been progressing since their establishment decades ago,
as His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak's state visit is expected to take these
ties to even new heights particularly at the economic and trade levels. Kuwait
is Egypt's third largest Arab trading partner after Saudi Arabia and the UAE,
with combined public and private sector's investment of $15 billion, while
1,227 companies operating in sectors of industry, finance, real estate,
tourism, services, agriculture and telecommunications. The figures were
confirmed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled
Al-Hamad Al-Sabah following a meeting of Kuwait-Egypt higher committee meeting
in Kuwait last December.

Egyptian exports
to Kuwait between 2010-18 amounted to 984.2 million Kuwaiti Dinars (KD) (some
$3.2 billion), while Kuwait exported KD 165.3 million ($$543 million) worth of
products to the North African nation, said Kuwait statistics department. Kuwait
Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) is also contributing to development
in Egypt, extending loans and grants to development projects in economic,
social, agricultural, health and educational sectors.

Since its
establishment in early 1960s, KFAED financed via loans around 50 projects with
some KD one billion ($3.4 billion), while offering KD 17.3 million ($56
million) worth of grants and technical assistance. Annual economic and trade
transactions between the two country recorded around $KD 3.6 billion ($12
billion), said Ahmad Al-Dhabe, an economist. He said that the Egyptian
community in Kuwait was spending around KD 1.8 billion ($6 billion) on housing,
education, health and travel in Kuwait.

Dhabe said around
25,000 Kuwaitis were living in Egypt as well, of them 20,000 students. He added
around 165,000 Kuwaitis were visiting Egypt each year, spending around KD 100
million ($340 million).The two countries, he said, were working on further
improving business and investment environments with the main aim of luring
further investments.

Strong relations

Kuwait's
Ambassador to Egypt Mohammad Al-Thuwaikh said that the upcoming visit by the
Prime Minister of Kuwait will further boost the strong relations with Egypt.
The Ambassador expressed confidence that Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak's visit will
help further reinvigorate Kuwaiti-Egyptian relations. Ambassador Thuwaikh
affirmed the frequency of high-level state visits by top officials from both
countries reflected the strong brotherly relations between Kuwait and Egypt.

The two nations
shared a strong history especially during the 1967 and the 1973 wars against
Israel when Kuwaiti and Egyptian troops stood side by side to defend Arab and
Muslim integrity, said the Kuwaiti diplomat who also commended Egypt's strong
stance against Iraqi greed in Kuwaiti land especially during the August 2, 1990
invasion of Kuwait.

The Egyptian Army
also played an integral role in liberating Kuwait in 1991 from the Iraqi
invasion, he said, affirming that both nations appreciated and valued their
strategic partnership and mutual interest in developing relations. Ambassador
Thuwaikh encouraged both Kuwaiti and Egyptian investors to seek business
opportunities offered by the respective countries, saying that the upcoming
two-day visit by Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak will surely focus on this important
issue.

In reaction to
the upcoming visit, Egyptian strategists, economist, and academics welcomed the
upcoming visit by Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak, saying that it will thrive bilateral
relations. In various statements to KUNA, strategists said that the Arab world
was in need for more countries to collaborate and cooperate on matters
pertaining to the overall development of Arab citizens and their protection
from harm. The visit comes at a crucial time for the Arab world in which
countries, such as Kuwait, Egypt and the rest of Arab region, were in need for
bolstering ties on all possible levels. The strategists affirmed that Kuwait,
in recent history, has been keen on the development of Egypt especially during
recent conferences aimed at boosting Egyptian economy.

Focusing on
economic cooperation, a number of economists and academics said that the
upcoming visit by Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak was another step to boost cooperation
within the economic, tourism, and commercial domains. They affirmed that
Egyptian investors and business personnel were willing to share their business
opportunities with their Kuwaiti brethren during Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak's
visit. Egypt had implemented several steps to attract and encourage business
opportunities with various countries especially Kuwait and this will be the
main focus of His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak's visit to the country, they
indicated. - KUNA