EU official underlines good and close relationship with Kuwait

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Both sides agree to jump-start cooperation agreement

BRUSSELS, May 17, (KUNA): Kuwait’s Ambassador to the European Union, Jassem Al-Budaiwi, hosted a lunch at his residence Tuesday in honor of the Chair of the Middle East- Gulf (MOG) Working Party at the European External Action Service (EEAS); the EU’s foreign service. Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Roberto Storaci, chair of MOG said “we think it is important to have direct contact with the ambassadors.

It was very kind of the Ambassador to invite us for lunch.” He noted that this lunch comes right after the visit of the EU’s political and security committee (PSC) to Kuwait. “The visit was very successful. The PSC ambassadors were extremely happy about the discussions they had in Kuwait,” he said. “It is a momentum on which we can build to enhance the relations with Kuwait,” said Storaci. He noted that the EU has good relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), adding that Kuwait is the first GCC country that the EEAS has signed a cooperation arrangement with. “The EU has a historic relationship with the GCC, regionto- region cooperation, a partnership and cooperation agreement with the GCC. But I think this can be complemented with stronger relations with the individual GCC countries like Kuwait,” he added.

On his part, Ambassador Al-Budaiwi told KUNA that Kuwaiti-EU relations “are deeper and stronger than ever” due to continuous high-level meetings and dialogue that has taken place between the two sides since the signing of the Cooperation Agreement in July 2017. He said that this working lunch with the MOG group came as a continuation after a successful visit of the PSC earlier this month to Kuwait, where they met First Deputy Prime Minister and the Speaker of Parliament.

“The State of Kuwait and the EU share many principles and values and think alike regarding many regional and international issues and both sides aim towards sustaining and maintaining international peace, security and stability,” he stressed. Regarding bilateral relationship with the EU, the Kuwaiti Ambassador underlined that the two sides agreed to jump-start the Cooperation Agreement by engaging in dialogues regarding energy, trade and humanitarian assistance. He said that both sides are currently discussing ways to start programmes of mutual benefit in these three issues.

Meanwhile, Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders highlighted Wednesday Belgium’s role in deepening collaborations between Europe and the Arab world to find political solutions to regional problems. “We have good relations with the Arab world. For Belgium it is important to play a role in deepening such very good relations between the two regional organisations (EU and Arab League) because we have the seat of the EU in Brussels,” he told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) in an exclusive interview ahead of a meeting with Arab League ambassadors posted in the Belgian capital.

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