08/03/2018
12831 times read
08/03/2018
12831 times read
KUWAIT CITY, March 7, (KUNA): Kuwait’s investment forum showcases the bountiful opportunities that await investors from around the world, two national bodies said on Wednesday. The co-organizers of the His Highness the Amir-sponsored forum on March 20-21, Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA), pointed out that the event would help build a competitive economy. In a press conference, KCCI chairman Ali Al-Ghanim said that the public and private sectors have joined forces with staggering results thus far, citing the highly acclaimed conference over reconstruction in Iraq that Kuwait hosted recently. He added that the forum, in its second edition, is an opportunity to display just how robust the Kuwaiti economy is, which in turn, dispels the notion that the country lags behind its Gulf neighbors in terms of development. Growth Al-Ghanim acknowledged the private sector’s contributions towards the Kuwaiti economy’s meteoric growth, saying a number of large-scale development projects have come to fruition in the last few years. Meanwhile, KDIPA Director General Sheikh Dr Mishal Al-Sabah said that the forum addresses various aspects of the Kuwaiti economy, including competitiveness and diversification, in addition to long-term plans for growth. He added that the business-friendly environment in Kuwait, coupled with the country’s strategic location, could lure foreign investors and put Kuwait on the fast track to economic development. The forum brings together senior Kuwaiti officials as well as local and foreign investors, in addition to financial institutions, to examine investment opportunities and emerging industry trends. Critical It would behoove Arab nations to work closely together as the region goes through a critical juncture, Kuwait’s health minister Dr Sheikh Basel Al-Sabah said on Wednesday. Filling in for Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah at the 35th session of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers in Algeria, Sheikh Basel spoke of a jam-packed agenda, noting that decisions need to be made in the best interests of the Arab region. “Our people are counting on us to deal with tough challenges that require cooperation across the board,” he said, in reference to the turmoil that has gripped large swathes of the Arab region. “We need to work together to fight terrorism and drugs, scourges that have destroyed our youth and diminished our capabilities,” Sheikh Basel stressed. The Kuwaiti minister, who heads his country’s delegation to the meeting, went on to thank Algerian officials for holding the session, which kicked off earlier on Wednesday, where a number of Arab nations are being represented. Meanwhile, Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahyaon Wednesday affirmed that the current meeting by Arab interior ministers was held in shadow of new and emerging challenges. In a statement opening the 35th session of the Arab interior ministers, hosted by the Algerian capital, the Algerian premier pin pointed some of these challenges namely cyber crime, illegitimate immigration, human trade and youth engagement in terrorism via the internet. The premier, in his statement aired by television stations, urged Arab states to adopt “iron fist policies” to clamp down on saboteurs plotting to destabilize the Middle East. For his part, Secretary General of the Arab Interior Ministers Council, Mohammad bin Koman, raised the issue of rising intervention in the Arab states’ affairs with the intention to destabilize the Arab countries and foment discords. Kuwait is represented at the meeting by Health Minister Sheikh Dr Bassel Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah, on behalf of Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah.