KFAED, Lebanon sign loan deal worth USD 36.9 mln
Kuwaiti fund grants $20.4 million loan to Zimbabwe Arab Lawyers Conference concludes
BEIRUT, March 25, (KUNA): The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has offered Lebanon a loan at a cost of KD 11.2 million (USD 36.9 million) to provide the country with a steady supply of water used for consumption and irrigation.
The agreement was co-signed on Saturday by KFAED’s Director General Abdulwahab Al-Bader and the President of the Lebanese Council for Development and Reconstruction Nabil Al-Jassar.
Speaking to KUNA after the deal was sealed, Al-Bader said that the loan will fund efforts to deliver an adequate supply of water to the Lebanese town of Bsharri, where residents have long suffered from a dearth of fresh water.
Moreover, he noted that the water will be instrumental in boosting local agricultural production, which in turn, will help buoy the Lebanese economy.
The KFAED Director General added that the loan will also fund a project to build 11 tube wells with a production capacity of 10,000 cubic meters per day, to ensure a sufficient supply of water.
On the loan, he said that it will be paid over a 25-year timeframe with yearly installments to cover the expenses of the projects.
Copious amounts of Kuwaiti financial aid have trickled into Lebanon over the years to finance development projects in the country.
Al-Bader
Meanwhile, a loan agreement was signed in Harare between the Government of The Republic of Zimbabwe and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development whereby Kuwait Fund will make a loan in an amount of KD. 6,000,000/- (equivalent to about US$ 20.4 million) to assist in the financing of the Zhove Irrigation Project in Zimbabwe. It is worth mentioning that in extending its loans and developmental assistance, Kuwait Fund depends exclusively on its own resources.
The loan was made in pursuance of an initiative by His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait announced at the 3rd Africa-Arab Summit held in Kuwait during the period 19 - 20 November 2013 to grant concessionary loans to African countries to the tune of one billion US dollars spread over the succeeding five years for financing development projects in the African countries.
The loan agreement was signed by P.A Chinamasa (M.P) Minister of Finance and Economic Development on behalf of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and Hamad Al-Omar, Deputy Director-General of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development on behalf of Kuwait Fund. Bader Nasser Al-Houti, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to the Republic of Zimbabawe, and Ayad Al-Gharaballi, Regional Manager for Central East & South African Countries at Kuwait Fund attended the signing ceremony.
The project aims to support the economic and social development in Beitbridge District, specifically Ferguson, Bishopstone and Cawood Ranches together with Mtetengwe, Mabidi and Malala communal lands situated along the left bank of Mzingwane river.
Kuwaiti lawyers who took part in Arab Lawyers Conference. Chairman of Kuwait Lawyers Association Nasser Al-Kuraiwen led a Kuwaiti delegation to the twoday Union of Arab Lawyers Conference titled “Gulf Security is an Integral Part of Arab Nation Security” that ended Saturday in Bahrain.
At the closing ceremony, Al-Kuraiwen said the conference organized for occupation of the permanent office of the Union of Arab Lawyers in Bahrain was significant, as it shed light on ways to increase interrelation among Arab countries. He noted the topics of discussion will help overcome discrimination among Arabs.