‘Need to upgrade trade between Kuwait & Iraq’
Investment opportunities: Iraqi minister
KUWAIT CITY, April 12, (KUNA): Minister of Commerce and Industry Khaled Al-Roudan stressed Wednesday the necessity of developing Kuwaiti-Iraqi trade in order to promote both sides’ economies, especially amid dwindling oil prices.
Al-Roudan, who doubles as Acting Minister of State for Youth Affairs, made the remark during a meeting with visiting Iraqi Minister of Planning and Commerce Salman Al-Jameeli.
He said the development of pan-Arab trade would undoubtedly lead to cementing Arab economic integration, thus enabling the Arab world to emulate world economic blocs. He added that he had discussed with the Iraqi minister an array of key issues mainly pertinent to bilateral trade, and means of finding the best ways to develop bilateral economic ties.
In this context, the Kuwait minister underlined the importance of exploring each other’s available investment openings, and creating a congenial investment environment in Iraq as well as wiping out obstacles investors are facing.
On his part, the Iraqi minister of planning said the Iraqi market boasts promising investment opportunities, which can be utilized by the Kuwaiti side, pointing to Iraqi-Kuwaiti social, political and trade relations.
He added that his meeting with the Kuwaiti minister had focused on how to effectively address recently emerging obstacles germane to legislations and laws.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has expressed hope that a Kuwaiti-Indonesian trade council will be formed in Kuwait, following the example of one recently launched in Jakarta.
The Indonesian-Kuwaiti trade council has been recently established in Jakarta in an initial step towards bolstering bilateral ties, head of the Chamber’s Committee on the Middle East and the Organization of Islamic (OIC) Fakhry Al-Tayyeb said. He hoped the Kuwaiti side would take a similar step, according to a release by the Kuwaiti embassy in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The release added that Al-Tayyeb and members of the newly-founded council visited the embassy where they met with ambassador in Jakarta Abdul-Wahan Abdullah Al-Saqr.
Al-Saqr asked the Indonesian delegation to officially contact the embassy on the formation of the council as well as their with for a Kuwaiti counterpart, so as to refer it to the concerned authorities at home. Head of the delegation hoped for more gatherings in the future to discuss means of boosting trade and economic ties between the two countries.