BRASILIA, July 24, (KUNA): The visit of His Highness the Prime Minister of Kuwait to Brazil, heading a large delegation of government and private sector representatives, is a great opportunity for Kuwait to be present and have investments in this promising country, said Kuwait’s Finance Minister Mustafa Jassem Al-Shimali.
In a statement Friday evening, Al-Shimali said that Brazil is one of the largest South American countries, and that investment opportunities were good here. The growth rate has been high in previous years, even last year, despite the global economic crisis.
The minister said that the Brazilian economy was beginning to regain its status, and that this was a great chance for Kuwait Investment Authority and the Kuwaiti private sector to be present in this countries and others that had a promising economy.
Visits
Al-Shimali said that he agreed with the Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega to have exchange visits of economic delegations soon, in order to discuss working together in different areas.
The finance ministers of Kuwait and Brazil signed, on the sidelines of this visit, a protocol amending the existing agreement for economic cooperation between the two countries.
Meanwhile, His Highness the Prime Minister will conclude his visit to Brazil on Sunday, and will head to Chile, making this the first visit by a Kuwaiti premier to this country.
His Highness Sheikh Nasser received Friday evening the Arab ambassadors accredited in Brasilia.
Chile is the sixth leg of His Highness Sheikh Nasser’s Latin American and Caribbean tour. Chile has an abundance of natural resources, including a third of the world’s reserve of copper, as well as other precious metals such as gold, silver and manganese. It also has huge fish resources given its long coastal line along the Pacific Ocean. Chile is home to a world-renowned fishing industry.
In Chile, His Highness Sheikh Nasser is set to hold official talks with the President, focusing on bilateral relations between the two countries and means to boost them in all areas.
He will also meet with the Supreme Court chief, and heads of the Senate and the Parliament.
His Highness Sheikh Nasser’s visit to Argentina is set to be marked by a number of joint agreements in several fields, said the Argentine Ambassador to Kuwait Jorge O. A. Biga.
“During the visit both countries will sign several cooperation agreements in the political, scientific, environmental and cultural fields,” he told KUNA in an exclusive interview.
“Kuwait aims to open new channels to increase investment and trade,” he added.
Caribbean
The ambassador was speaking on the occasion of the Kuwaiti prime minister’s visit to Argentina in the coming days, as part of his tour of Latin America and the Caribbean aimed at furthering cooperation with this dynamic region. His Highness Sheikh Nasser has marked Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Chile, Uruguay, Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico and Guyana as stops for his Latin America and Caribbean tour.
Asked about the relations between both nations, the ambassador described them as “excellent,” noting that the Kuwaiti prime minister’s visit “will bring new possibilities to bolster and reinforce them.” Last month, Kuwait received both the Argentinean Minister of Scientific, Technology and Productive Innovation and the Governor of Santa Fe.
Biga said, “Santa Fe is one of the most important provinces of Argentina, and benefits from a loan granted by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) that allowed the construction of roads in its territory.
“Both visitors had the possibility to meet many of Kuwait’s officials. This permitted study to be carried out in different fields where both countries can cooperate and improve their economical and commercial relationship. The visit of His Highness the Prime Minister will make these possibilities real,” he said.
Asked about the significance of Brazil as an up and coming nation internationally, in relation to Argentina’s plans to catch up as the second largest South American country in size, he said, “Argentina is the second largest nation in South America, which is developing its international policy in integration with the G20 group of countries. Its relative importance and presence in the world would allow the discussion at a high level the global reality and to take decisions in regard.”