Asia-Gulf Arab ties improvement eyed

KUWAIT CITY, July 17, (KUNA): There remains huge potential for more cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the wider Asian region, Kuwait’s foreign minister told pan-regional talks in Uzbekistan on Friday.

Highlighting Kuwait’s “storied relations” with the Central and South Asia region, Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Al-Nasser Al-Sabah said his country has been a major contributor towards development there, citing key projects worth USD four billion in areas ranging from infrastructure to education.

Remarks of Sheikh Dr. Ahmad AlNasser, who doubles as Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, came at “The International Conference on Central and South Asia Regional Connectivity, Challenges and Opportunities”, held Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan on July 15-16.

Improving cooperation between Gulf Arab states and Asian countries would yield remarkable “success” for both sides, the Kuwaiti top diplomat noted, pinpointing sectors such as trade and investment as of the most potential for growth.

With COVID-induced challenges thrust upon the world, it would behoove both regions to work closer together to keep those hardships at bay, added the minister.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has called for the two-day talks as part of efforts to establish more trans-regional cooperation.

The Kuwait Oil Tankers Company (KOTC) has been working on an extended plan for more than a year to completely modernize home cooking gas cylinders, reports Al-Anba daily quoting reliable sources.

The company has a plan during fiscal 2021/2022 to purchase and supply 400,000 gas cylinders weighing12 kg with valves to cover the demand for cylinders for the two branches of liquefied gas filling stations in Shuaiba and Umm Al-Aish.