Belgium, Kuwait Keen to Strengthen Economic Cooperation

The first ever meeting of the Belgian-Kuwait economic committee began in Brussels, with both sides expressing their desire to expand and strengthen bilateral economic cooperation.

"We all look forward to an open and frank dialogue, to work together to deepen cooperation which shall serve our mutual interest, "Kuwait's assistant foreign minister for economic affairs Amal Al-Hamad said in her opening remarks.

She expressed her happiness to lead Kuwait's delegation to the first meeting of the Kuwait Belgium economic committee. She noted that Kuwait and Belgium enjoy historical and strong relations that go back to 1964.

Through Kuwait National Development plan, the mechanism for implementing Kuwait Vision 2035, the country is showing improvement on all economic fronts, she noted. Kuwait has been listed among the top reformers in the ease of doing business, report published by the world group.

Kuwait ranks among the top countries with rank improvement n the World Economic Forum competitiveness. The Stock Market of Kuwait is being upgraded to that of an emerging market country, said Al-Hamad. The trade exchanges between Belgium and Kuwait has increased from 204 million Euros in 2017 to 220 million Euros in 2018, said Al-Hamad.

On her part, Anick van Calster, Director General for bilateral affairs at the Belgian Foreign Ministry, in her opening remarks said today's meeting will discuss ways to promote the bilateral economic relations and to learn from each other's experience.

This is an important occasion to give impetus to the bilateral economic cooperation, she said and noted that what our enterprises need most is to exchange ideas and learn from each other's experiences. The Kuwait Vision 2035 economic plan under the patronage of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah offers a rich opportunity that Kuwait has to offer to all those who wish to invest in the country, said Van Calster Raoul Delcrode, head of the Middle East and North Africa Department in the Belgian foreign ministry, said Belgium and Kuwait enjoy "robust relations.

" He noted that Kuwait's Vision 2035 is of great interest for our companies here in Belgium. Belgian companies are ready to engage with their Kuwaiti counterparts to see the opportunities in oil and gas sector in port management in dredging sector, he said. "We are ready from the Belgian side to share our experiences," he said and added that they are looking forward to a fruitful exchange.

The meeting is being held at Egmont Palace with the participation of representatives from 11 Kuwaiti agencies and 9 agencies from the Belgian side. "The most important and interesting part of the meeting will be the session on Success Story in which the companies from Belgium and Kuwait will relate their success stories in the two countries," according to Kuwait's ambassador to Belgium, EU and NATO, Jasem Al-Budaiwi.