(MENAFN- Arab Times) KUWAIT CITY Jan 27 (KUNA): Visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius envisioned at the opening of the Az-Zour South Power Plant here on Tuesday boosting cooperation between his country and Kuwait in numerous fields including electricity water health and transportation.
He congratulated in a press statement the cooperation between Kuwaiti personnel and French companies on the southern Az-Zour power plant project saying such cooperation reflected the exemplary ties between the two nations.
He said his country looked forward to achieving such projects as the power plant beyond the five year development plan of the Kuwaiti government stressing in that respect bolstering bilateral investments especially Kuwaiti investments in France which the minister said were of significant proportions.
Turning to other topics Fabius said he valued the Kuwaiti government's intention to have the French language taught in Kuwaiti schools. Furthermore he said his country in a bid to encourage Kuwaiti tourism in France was going to issue visas to Kuwaiti tourists in as little time as within 48 hours.
At the same time Kuwaiti Minister of Public Works Electricity and Water Abdul- Aziz Al-Ibrahim attending the opening of the southern Az- Zour power plant along with the French minister emphasized the long relationship between the two countries going back to the 1950s in the field of electric power and water desalination.
On his part the Assistant Undersecretary in the Ministry of Public Works Electricity and Water in charge of power plants and desalination plants Iyad Al- Falah said that the southern Az-Zour power plant using reverse osmosis technology has the capacity to produce 30 million empirical gallons of water a day adding thus 15 percent to the ministry's total daily water output. Indicating that the project was in the hands of a French firm and a Kuwaiti one Al- Falah said the project cost KD 54 million to be overseen by the two firms for a period of five years.
He said the usage of reverse osmosis at this plant is the second of its type in Kuwait the first one being used in the Shuwaikh power plant in 2011. The Kuwaiti and French governments have signed a declaration of intent for promoting and developing language cooperation as part of bilateral cultural relations.
The declaration was signed by First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al- Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and visiting French Minister Laurent Fabius. Both sides also inked a memo of understanding for implementing a project for water desalination using solar energy together with an extended memo of understanding in the field of personnel training.
The signing ceremony was attended by Undersecretary of the Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah the Foreign Ministry's Europe Department Director Ambassador Waleed Al-Khubaizi Sheikh Sabah Al- Khaled's Office Chief Ambassador Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al- Sabah and several other senior officials of the Foreign Ministry.
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