LOC17:54
14:54 GMT
By Mahdi Al-Nimr
ROME, Nov 17 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's ambassador to Italy, Sheikh Jaber Duaij
al-Ibrahim al-Sabah, welcomed in remarks to KUNA on Saturday the upcoming
visit of Italian prime minister Mario Monti to Kuwait which is scheduled for
tomorrow.
The visit marks a high ground for Kuwaiti-Italian relations which have
witnessed a good measure of closeness in recent years, based on mutual
interests in ramping up the volume of trade between the two nations, said the
ambassador.
He noted that still there were ample more opportunities for broadening the
scope of bilateral trade, in view of the fact that Kuwait has become a
thriving market for top Italian products.
He pointed out that the prime minister's visit comes at a momentous time
for the Italian government and the European economy, as Italy tries earnestly
to restructure its economy at a juncture when the Eurozone is convulsing with
difficulties, overshadowed by an anticipated global recession.
Wide-ranging as the cooperation between Kuwait and Italy is, said Sheikh
Jaber, covering such areas as health, education, tourism, and the environment,
it is the mutual wish of both sides to boost that cooperation further,
especially by activating some agreements that have been signed in recent times.
The ambassador made it abundantly clear that the relationship between both
countries went back to the early sixties, noting that in 1964 diplomatic
relations were officially established, and recalling the commendable stance of
Italy vis-@-vis the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the subsequent
formation of an Italian-Kuwaiti Friendship Society in the city of Florence.
(end)
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