Premier’s Turkey ‘visit’ to further cement bilateral ties, cooperation
PM’s Ankara visit ‘important’: Ambassador Al-Zawawi
ANKARA, Sept 12, (KUNA): Kuwait Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah’s upcoming visit to Ankara, due Wednesday, will further cement bilateral relations and cooperation between Kuwait and Turkey.
His Highness the Prime Minister, who would visit Turkey on Sept 13-16, would build upon three recent summits held between the leaders of Turkey and Kuwait: the first last March in Ankara and the next two in Kuwait in May and July this year.
His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak is to hold talks with his Turkish counterpart Benali Yildirim on bilateral relations and regional developments, while Istanbul would host Turkey-Kuwait Economic Forum on Friday.
Kuwait and Turkey established diplomatic relations in 1969 and embassies opened the following year. The two countries signed a land transportation agreement in 1970.
The two countries signed between 1975-1988 agreements on culture, air services, economic, technical and industrial cooperation, in addition to encouragement and protection of investments.
Bilateral relations witnessed a new leap when late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah visited Ankara in November 1991 to thank Turkey for its support of Kuwait during the 199091 Iraqi invasion.
Turkey considered Iraq’s seven-month occupation of Kuwait a violation of international law, voicing complete solidarity with Kuwait, stopping export of Iraqi oil on Turkish territories and joined the US-led international coalition that liberated Kuwait.
Kuwait supported the democratically-elected government in Turkey during the failed coup attempt in July 2016. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a message to Turkish President Recep Teyyip Erdogan to congratulate him on the success of the legitimate leadership and preservation of democracy.
His Highness the Amir visited Turkey in 2008, during which the two countries signed agreements on economic, scientific, health and labor cooperation.
Meanwhile, Kuwait’s Ambassador in Ankara Ghassan Al-Zawawi termed as “important” the visit of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah to Turkey.
The Sept 13-16 visit will include the signature of cooperation agreements as well as discussing with Turkish officials a host of issues of mutual interest, he said in a statement to KUNA Tuesday.
Furthermore, Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs Ambassador Walid Al-Khubaizi told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the visit came in response to the invitation extended by Turkish Prime Minister Ben Ali Yildirim, adding that this visit had been prepared for three months ago.
He stressed that the two sides will discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and develop them in various fields, especially economic and investment ones, as well as encouraging reciprocal successful economic partnerships through exploiting the promising opportunities available in both countries.
The visit will witness the signing of a number of bilateral agreements in the field of civil aviation, double taxation, cooperation in small and medium enterprises, communications, in addition to a protocol of cooperation between the National Guard and the Turkish Gendarmerie, he noted.
He added that the Turkish-Kuwaiti Economic Forum will be held on the sidelines of the visit with the participation of senior officials of both countries in Istanbul, including the Minister of Commerce and Industry and Acting Minister of State for Youth Affairs Khaled Al-Roudhan.