(MENAFN - Arab Times) "Spain and Kuwait have enjoyed excellent bilateral relations. Our political relations is at the highest level. Our King visited Kuwait recently strengthening our more than excellent ties and with this, we want to move forward and focus on bringing the economic and commercial relations between Spain and Kuwait to a greater height.
We want to strengthen the presence of Spanish companies in Kuwait," disclosed Spanish Ambassador to Kuwait Angel Losada during the business forum on Wednesday between the Spanish Business delegation and Kuwaiti businessmen at the Kuwait of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). KCCI Board Member Osama Mohamed Yousuf Al-Nisf welcomed Losada along with the Spanish Business delegation led by Julian-Lopez-Arenas, the Director of International Relations of the Spanish High Council of Chambers of Commerce.
The delegation was composed of representatives of various leading engineering, infrastructure and construction companies in Spain namely Abeima, CAF, Ferrovial, Grupo Isolux-Corsan, INECO, Sener, Valoriza (Grupo Sacyr Vallerhermoso), FCC, OHL, INDRA, Grupo San Jose and ARIC.
"I believe that there is a complementary work to be done between Spanish companies and Kuwait's needs in its infrastructure projects. I'm honored and pleased to present to you top Spanish engineering, infrastructure and construction companies that can be Kuwait's partners in the implementation of Kuwait's development plan," pointed out Losada. He informed that the business delegation has visited various ministries and Kuwaiti companies aimed at exploring possible business ventures in the country.
"We want to take our commercial relations with Kuwait to the highest level as possible and we would like to thank the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry for arranging a business meeting such as this one where we can present the strong capabilities of the Spanish companies," he added. He also cited the establishment of the Economic and Commercial at the Spanish Embassy in Kuwait to boost bilateral trade relations between the two countries. He cited a few projects in Kuwait by Spanish companies such as the Jamal Abdul Nasser viaduct by OHL Company, the new airport and terminal, port of Boubyan and other projects.
"We are the best in Metro projects and aside from the construction projects, we're also pleased with the increasing presence of Spanish fashion in Kuwait. With all my strength as the head of mission in Kuwait, I will try all my best to increase the presence of Spanish companies in the country," he stressed.
On the other hand, speaking on behalf of the KCCI, Al-Nisf stated that the visit of the Spanish Business delegation to Kuwait and direct discussions with their counterpart serves as the strongest bridge and most useful channel for closer commercial cooperation between the two countries. "It is our earnest hope that this visit will contribute to reinforce the bilateral commercial relationship between our two friendly countries, giving ample opportunity to know more about the business environment and available business opportunities in Spain," he stressed.
Al-Nisf agreed with Losada that there is a need to improve the bilateral trade exchange between Spain and Kuwait. "The bilateral trade exchange between our two countries does not reach to our expected level as the preliminary trade figures in 2012 show that Kuwait's imports from Spain amounted to US209 million and in this regard, we need to exert more efforts to boost our trade ties," he cited.
Al-Nisf expressed the strong commitment of the KCCI to extending all possible cooperation in further enhancing the development of trade between Kuwait and Spain. "There are huge opportunities for the Spanish companies to take part in Kuwait's development plan that includes the establishment of new cities, ports, power plant and large complex of aromatics, rehabilitations of Kuwait's island, improvement of oil fields, telecommunications and transportations amounting to approximately US 100 billion in the next five years," he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Lopez-Arenas cited Kuwait's healthy economy making it an ideal place to do business for the Spanish companies specializing in infrastructure, hospital, airport, road, metro and other construction projects. "With the current global crunch that has hit Spain and other countries in Europe and the world, Spanish companies are now trying to look for business ventures abroad and there are a lot of business opportunities in Kuwait now especially in the infrastructure and construction sector," he outlined. He added that they want to increase the presence of Spanish companies in Kuwait.
"It's been two years ago since we brought a Spanish Business delegation to Kuwait and this is the third time now that we're bringing in another delegation aimed at fortifying our presence here," he explained. He added that their next step is to bring small medium commercial companies to do business in Kuwait.
