KUWAIT CITY, Jan 22, (KUNA): Director-General of Kuwait Diplomatic Institute (KDI) Ambassador Abdul-Aziz Al-Sharekh said Kuwait and other GCC member states are seeking to develop the level of mutual understanding with the European Union (EU).
Al-Sharekh was speaking at a news conference to officially announce the 5th conference of the Gulf-European Forum to be held in Kuwait on March 8 under the aegis of His Highness Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah under the umbrella of Kuwait’s rotating GCC presidency and Spain’s rotating EU presidency.

Such conferences contribute to creating more opportunities for unifying mutual visions and highlighting common interests, he said, adding that GCC-EU economic relations are largely developing.
Europe is the GCC countries’ key trade partner with their trade exchanging totaling $80 billion, he said.
The forum represents ideological projects for developing various cooperative ties between both side, thus providing an opportunity for closer intellectual and cultural viewpoints, Al-Sharekh added.
Kuwait will spare no effort to ensure the success of this conference just in harmony with the common Gulf orientation purposed to bolster and cement the GCC’s relations with its European allies and friends, he vowed. The forum, which will coincide with the International Women’s Day, will focus on women’s issues on the second day of the gathering, which will also cover cultural and artistic activities, he noted.

Concerning obstacles impeding a Gulf-Europe free trade agreement, the KDI chief said the larger part of this deal has been already completed, hoping that it would be concluded soon with a view to cementing and beefing up bilateral cooperative frameworks.
The agreement, once put in place, would surely constitute a quantum and historic shift in bilateral relations, he suggested.
For his part, Spanish Ambassador in Kuwait Manuel Gomez de Valenzuela said the fifth forum in Kuwait is given a special significance thanks to deep cooperative ties between Spain and Kuwait on the one hand and deep historical relations between the GCC member states and the EU on the other hand. He stressed the significance of the planned EU-Gulf free trade agreement, which he said would further promote bilateral relations and open broader fields of cooperation in diverse domains.