Kuwaiti-Sino construction deals surge to $8.2bn: Envoy
KUWAIT: The collective value of construction projects involving Kuwait and China this year has hit $8.2 billion (KD 2.4 billion), the most lucrative deal Beijing has forged with a Gulf country, China’s Ambassador to Kuwait said yesterday.
Speaking at a seminar over Kuwait’s ties with the world’s most populous nation, Wang Di revealed that trade between Kuwait and Beijing is worth $3.8 billion (KD 1.2 billion), while China has hitherto imported 5.12 metric tons of crude oil from Kuwait. He added that the year 2017 marked an epoch in relations between his country and Kuwait, where both nations’ respective leaders have shown a mutual desire to expand bilateral ties between “two trusted partners.”
The Chinese envoy cited numerous development projects Kuwait and China have undertaken, putting both nations directly on the path to prosperity and growth. Meanwhile, addressing the seminar, KUNA’s Deputy Director General for the Editorial Sector and Editor-in-Chief Saad Al-Ali said that Kuwait and the Gulf region’s ties with China have progressed smoothly in recent years, especially at political and economic levels. He also stressed the need for greater interaction between China and the Gulf region, where dialogue channels need to be reassessed to allow both sides to reach out to one another.
On Sino-Kuwaiti relations, the Secretary General of the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development Dr Khaled Mahdi said it dates back 46 years, as Kuwait was the first Arab nation to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing. He pinpointed Kuwaiti loans worth $825 million given to China in 1982, which set in motion a string of 32 development projects in Beijing, as a testament to the all-encompassing relationship shared between the two countries. — KUNA