Kuwait eyes European investors - diplomat

BRUSSELS, Feb 20 (KUNA) -- Kuwait is keen on inviting investors from Europe to visit the GCC-member country and explore the great opportunities and facilities the country has to offer to expand their businesses, a Kuwaiti diplomat said Tuesday.
Kuwait established a sovereign national fund back in 1952, the first of its kind in the world, Kuwait's Ambassador to Belgium, EU, NATO, and Luxembourg Jassem Al-Budaiwi told a breakfast seminar.
Kuwait's first destination for investment was Europe, Al-Budaiwi said, noting "we are pioneer in the region in every aspect, be in trade, education, politics, democracy." "Now Kuwait has moved to another era to open up its doors to international investors and bring back investors," said the Kuwaiti diplomat.
"Reliability and Trustworthy is the theme of Kuwait," he affirmed, urging European investors to visit the country, and noted that Kuwait will host a very important Investment Forum on March 20.
The seminar was organized by Euraffex, a Brussels-based events' organizer, in cooperation with Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA).
For his part, Khaled Mahdi, Secretary General of Kuwait's Supreme Council for Planning and Development, presented a general perspective on the "old Kuwait" to the "new Kuwait" with its vision of 2035, the ongoing major projects in the country and the evolution of the economy.
"The new Kuwait is a mix of modern and the old one. We would like to get the sustainability of the old time and the high-quality life of modern times," said Mahdi.
"We want to bring back the role of Kuwait as in the past as being in the center of trade and finance," he added.
"Our plan for the future is quire ambitious but realistic," he said, urging investors in Europe to visit Kuwait to see it for themselves.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Yaqoub, Assistant Director General KDIPA, said "we are focusing to get the right partners in order to increase the efficiency in the market. Kuwait has a lot to offer." Kuwait is focusing on how transfer and new technologies elaborate on reasons such as strong legal and banking system, a vibrant youth and strategic location why one should invest in Kuwait.
"We invite Europeans to think of investing and expand their businesses," he said.
For her part, Lina Abourous, Managing Director of Euraffex, pointed out, in her welcoming remarks, her visit to Kuwait last month, expressing her admiration to the country and its people, and their way of working, and described her visit experience to the country as "mesmerizing". (end) nk.ma