Pakistan has close and cordial relations with Kuwait, says ambassador KUWAIT, Nov 9 (PFP) -- Pakistan has close and cordial relations with Kuwait, said its Ambassador Syed Abrar Hussain, who highlighted that the government of Prime Minister Muhammed Sharif is particularly keen on these relations. The two countries have these relations which are rooted in religion and history and they are very close to each other, he said in an interview with Kuwaits natioanal news agency. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, the government of Pakistan extended full support to Kuwait at international forums and practically on ground. Pakistani troops came here (Kuwait) for mine cleaning and nine of them embraced martyrdom, he added. The ambassador was speaking on the occassion of the upcoming official visit to Pakistan of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah in between November 10 to 12 in response to a recent invitation extended by his Pakistani counterpart Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. The high-level visit comes seven years after another made by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Jaber Al-Sabah in 2006. On the opposite side, the ambassador said that both Pakistans president and prime minister made several visits to Kuwait in recent years. These include visits of the then President Asif Ali Zardari in February, 2011 to participate in special celebrations marking the Golden Jubilee of Kuwaiti independence, the 20th anniversary of the Liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi occupation and the five-year anniversary of HH the Amirs ascendancy, followed by a bilateral visit in May, 2011. Also, former prime ministers Syed Yusuf Raza Gillani and Raja Pervez Ashraf visited Kuwait in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The latter came to participate in the First Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit. The visit by His Highness the Prime Minister of Kuwait to Pakistan will provide an opportunity to the leadership of both countries to discuss all aspects of bilateral relations - political, economic, cultural and so on... The two sides will also discuss issues of mutual interest in the regional and global contexts. On the program of the visit, he said HH the prime minister is expected to hold talks with Sharif, followed by a lunch banquet hosted by the Pakistani prime minister for the visiting dignitaries. We hope that agreements will be signed in the fields of economics, legal, and others. In fact there are some advanced teams from the Kuwaiti side in Pakistan who are negotiating and trying to finalize many agreements and these agreements would be signed once His Highness Sheikh Jaber is there in Pakistan. On economic cooperation, he said we need to enhance investment and increase bilateral trade. As of now, Pakistan is one of the biggest buyers of Kuwaiti diesel. Every year, we import USD 3.5 billion of diesel. Also, there are more than 120,000 Pakistanis living in Kuwait and contributing towards the development of this brotherly society, he said. The Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company was established in 1979 as a joint venture between the two governments and since then it has been engaged in investment and developing banking activities in Pakistan. It is working in Pakistan investing in a number of projects like Kuwaiti Takaful in Pakistan and so many other projects. Also, the Kuwait Fund has been providing economic assistance in the form of soft loans to Pakistan since 1976, he added. But reciprocally, Pakistan exports to Kuwait are not that extent, and he said we (Pakistan) will try to bridge this gap. Well try to cover the huge imbalance in trade and businessman both countries have to meet off and on. They need to have to coordinate to enhance business and investments between the two countries. So the economic cooperation is there but we need to raise the level of this cooperation and enhance the volume and for that both countries will have to cooperate with each other. On the political field, he said the two sides have identical views on a number of issues amid international forums like the UN and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Normally the two sides cooperate and support each other. They support each others candidacies being brotherly and very close. They do not face any sort of problem and any dispute in the political field.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 16:40:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015