By Nawab Khan
LUXEMBOURG, Sept 17 (KUNA) -- Relations and cooperation between Kuwait and Luxembourg are set to deepen and expand following the 2-day visit of a Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation.
The Kuwaiti parliamentarians met the prime minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel, the president of the parliament of the Grand Duchy Fernand Etgen as well as members of the foreign affair committee of the parliament on Monday and held wide-ranging discussions.
"It was a very good meeting where we exchanged about the deep relations that we have and especially the role that our both countries have, to make bridges between other bigger neighbours and which is very often needed especially nowadays where we speak about each other but not with each other, " Bettel told the Kuwait news agency, KUNA, after the meeting.
The prime minister of Luxembourg said he was "very happy" to have meet His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at the sidelines of the Europe-Arab summit meeting at Sharm al Sheikh in Egypt in February.
"We are very often that bridges among other countries and that build bridges," he added.
On his part, Etgen who hosted a working lunch for the Kuwaiti delegation, said "they had a very good discussions and debate. It is a great honour and privilege for the chamber of deputies to receive such a distinguished delegation from Kuwait." "Kuwait and Luxembourg have been partners for a very long time already. It is important to meet each other on regular basis. When you talk eye to eye you understand each other much better," he told KUNA.
"The meetings like today are the stepping stone for our future endeavors," he said and added that there is an enormous potential for the two countries to cooperate in sectors like economy, climate change, geopolitics in the Gulf region and the role of smaller countries in world politics.
Al-Humaidi Badr Al-Subai, the vice chair of the Kuwait-Luxembourg parliamentary friendship group who led the Kuwaiti said , thanked the Luxembourg parliamentarians and the prime minister of Luxembourg for their enthusiastic welcome to the Kuwaiti delegation.
He said the Luxembourg side expressed its support to Kuwait's request for lifting the Schengen visa for the EU.
Al Subai told KUNA that the Luxembourg prime minister is expected to visit Kuwait in November to sign agreements between the two countries.
The parliamentarians in Luxembourg expressed their readiness to support Kuwait in the international fora and in the inter-parliamentary union, he said. Al-Subai signed the golden book for visiting dignitaries at the Luxembourg parliament.
Ambassador of Kuwait to Luxembourg, Belgium, the EU and NATO, Jasem Al-Budaiwi, who attended the meetings described the the visit of the Kuwaiti parliamentarians as "very successful." "We had very open and straightforward discussions that included all aspects of relations between Kuwait and Luxembourg," he told KUNA.
"We heard from them praising His Highness the Amir's efforts on how to harmonize and stabilise relations in the region and his humanitarian," he added.
Both countries underlined the need to strengthen further bilateral relations and cooperation, he said.
The signature of the Additional Protocol on avoidance of double taxation between Kuwait and Luxembourg last July "was a great step in the direction of boosting bilateral relations," said Al Budaiwi.
The upcoming meeting of civil aviation authorities between Kuwait and Luxembourg in October to discuss civil services will also boost the ties, he said.
Kuwait and Luxembourg are two small countries, which are similar and can learn from each other's experience on international and regional issues, said Al Budaiwi. Kuwaiti parliamentarian Humud Abdullah Al Khudair said this visit was "successful and talks were positive." He noted that there is a common understanding on many issues between the two counties.
"The two countries are small but big in their actions," he told KUNA and noted that they raised the issue of lifting of Schengen visa for Kuwaiti citizens and Luxembourg's support for that.
"We also discussed about economic relations and investments in Luxembourg," he said and expressed his thanks to the Luxembourg side for their warm hospitality.
The Kuwaiti parliamentarians will meet the finance committee of the Luxembourg parliament today Tuesday. (end) nk.mb