The 23rd Kuwait-funded school opens in Baghdad
Kuwait’s Ambassador to Iraq inaugurated a new school yesterday, the last out of a string of 23 facilities all financed by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. “The opening of this school caps off the construction of 23 schools across Iraq,” Salem Al-Zamanan told KUNA, saying the project typifies his country’s cordial relationship with its Gulf neighbor. Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti envoy said that he was sanguine that the new schools, all of which are fully equipped, would help prop up Baghdad’s ailing education sector. He pointed out that Kuwait has built numerous makeshift schools in Iraq over the years, especially in areas hardest hit by war. Meanwhile, Hussein Malaa, an Iraqi education official, revealed that the new facility stretches over 6,000 square meters at a cost of USD 2.9 million, thanking Kuwait for the aid he said Baghdad was in dire need of.
The Kuwait Fund for Economic Development had also launched several urgent healthcare assistance programs in Iraq as part of a USD 100 million grant to the country. These include some USD 15 million set to be handed out on Thursday for projects across eight Iraqi provinces, the fund’s representative Nawaf Al-Mohammad, who is currently on a visit to the country, said. As agreed with the Iraqi government, the programs will target rebuilding destroyed health centers and providing these centers with medical equipment and medicine in preparation for the arrival home of displaced families. — KUNA