KUWAIT, Dec 4 (KUNA) -- Minister of Public Works Dr. Nora Al-Mashaan, during her attendance of the signing ceremony of a MoU between Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA) and Abu Dhabi Ports Group (AD Ports) on Monday, said the memo inking mirrored the two countries' solid and brotherly relations.
Dr. Al-Mashaan, also the KPA Chairperson, said the MoU signing signaled keenness of the two countries' sagacious leaderships on boosting cooperation in vital sectors, namely the ports and affiliated logistical services.
The MoU constitutes "an institutional and practical framework to exchange expertise, transfer knowledge and information and develop cadres' skills," she said, indicating that the move would contribute to promoting level of operational efficiency, boosting the Kuwaiti ports competition, backing up the state approach toward sustainable development and bolstering Kuwait's status as an effective regional logistical hub.
The memo signing is the corner stone for a clear executive course and depicted strategic partnership that will lead to programs and practical enterprises with forecast benefits "for our two countries and bolster integration and cooperation between them," Minister Al-Mashaan added.
For his part, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, the United Arab Emirates' Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said during the ceremony that the State of Kuwait has bolstered its stature as a key trade partner for the UAE; the second top commercial partner for Kuwait globally, the first at the Arab and Gulf levels, receiving 20 percent of Kuwait's non-oil exports.
The Kuwaiti exports to the UAE were valued at 8.38 billion dirhams (USD 6.10 billion) in the first nine months of the current year -- rising by 6.7 percent compared to the past year's corresponding period, Dr. Al-Zeyoudi added.
The MoU signing aims at developing and operating the containers' processes at the Kuwaiti Al-Shuaiba Port, he revealed.
The historic and strategic partnership between Kuwait and the UAE reflects the brotherly relations "that bond our two countries," he said, adding that it would back up the Kuwaiti port trade movement and logistical services for benefit of the Kuwaiti economy and the regional maritime navigation Also speaking at the event was Sheikh Khaled Salem Al-Sabah, the KPA Director General, who affirmed that signing the memo was in line with the leadership's vision for boosting the brotherly ties with IAE and the KPA strategy to overhaul its operations and lgistical tasks, thus backing up the external trade, activating the supplies chain and increasing exports and imports as well as luring direct investments.
According to the memo, the Abu Dhabi Ports Group will prepare technical, environmental and financial studies for the enterprise, while the KPA will set a venue of the project and facilitate the licences' issuance for executing the venture.
Captain Mohammad Jumaa Al-Shamsi, the CEO of the Abu Dhabi Ports Group, said "this cooperation depicts the close partnership" between the two ports' authorities.
The Abu Dhabi group, as a leading supplier of logisitical, commercial solutions and an international developer of ports, marine stations and infrastructures, will employ its substantial expertise to ensure the venture success, Capt. Shamsi added. (end) ad.rk