By Ibrahim Arafa
KUWAIT, April 17 (KUNA) -- Military and economic relations between the US and Kuwait have been progressing at a steady and remarkable pace in past years, US Ambassador to Kuwait Matthew H. Tueller said in a press roundtable held Thursday over the ambassador's view on series of issues, mainly the US-Kuwaiti relations during his three term which is about to end shortly.
On US military commitment to Kuwait, the ambassador underlined that the US commitment is a solid as it has ever been. He shed lights on the different aspects of this commitement in previous years.
"We were able to have (joint) military exercises, military presence, cooperation between the two militaries that make it meaningful when we say that we are prepared to defend our friends and allies in the region."
The ambaasador added that, the US was "very, very proud" of the level of cooperation between both sides, and the Kuwaiti military's current ability to defend its lands "alongside the United States and other partners against any threat that could emerge in the future."
Tueller underscored US eagerness to support the Kuwaiti military's capability building.
"One component of that is the provision of military equipment that meet the highest technological standards and that is interoperable with the equipment used by the US military with its presence here whether it is land forces, sea forces, air forces or air defense forces. In addition to providing that equipment we also provide training."
He unveiled that the US has agreed to provide Kuwait's military with the third generation of the Patriot Missile System to counter the threat of ballistic missiles.
"The patriot missile system which is now in its pack three or the third generation ... is far away the most sophisticated technological means of countering the threat of ballistic missiles and so Kuwait and other countries in the region want that capability and because of security assessment, the United States were able to provide that system to the Kuwaiti military."
Asked about the Kuwaiti request for the US administration to get back the two national inmates in Guantanamo prison, Tueller said that there is a significant progress on talks over the issue, but he refused to elaborate on the content of the talks.
"We can't discuss the content of government-to-government decisions," the Ambassador said.
He, however, noted that there is a "significant progress" on the goal, adding that the issue was "a regular topic of discussion between the two governments."
On the level of economic and trade exchange, he said this "has increased by 167 percent. That is a significant indicator that the trade relationship between Kuwait and the United States is increasing even greater than the general increase of the exports and trade with other countries around the world."
According to US figures, trade volume with Kuwait grew from USD 5.7 billion in 2009 to USD 15.2 billion in 2013. Over the same period, US exports to the world have grown only by 33 percent.
"I think this reflects the deepening relationship between the two countries. I think it is a positive sign. We are the number one trading partner to Kuwait ... and Kuwait is our fifth largest trading partner in the Middle East region."
He, however, stated that there a number of challenges still discouraging some US investors from launching businesses in Kuwait.
"There is a relatively low level of enforcement of intellectual property rights here in Kuwait ... some US companies also find it very very difficult to acquire land in here.
"I think it's extremely important that we help private sector companies (solve these problems) to have more trade because that brings more people-to-people relationships." (end)
ibi