Portrait of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah provided by Kuwaiti Emir's Palace
KUWAIT CITY, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The development of partnership and bilateral cooperation with China on the basis of mutual benefit contributes to better well-being of Kuwaiti and Chinese people as well as common progress, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on the eve of his visit to China.
Al-Sabah, who will pay a state visit to China from July 7 to 10, said the two countries have maintained enduring political and economic ties, and his visit to China "demonstrates the determination to strengthen such ties."
During the visit, the Kuwaiti emir will also attend the opening ceremony of the eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held in Beijing, the capital of China.
As the first Gulf Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with China, Kuwait is also one of the first countries to have signed a cooperation agreement with China under the Belt and Road Initiative, Al-Sabah pointed out.
The initiative, which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes.
The initiative, proposed by China in 2013, is highly compatible with Kuwaiti strategic development plans, the emir noted.
China is Kuwait's largest source of imports, as the trade volume between the two countries reached a record 12.04 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, while Kuwait is China's fourth largest crude oil supplier in the Arab world.
Meanwhile, Kuwait and China have been working together under the framework of international and regional organizations, Al-Sabah said.
He highlighted the need for "more consultation and coordination" between the two countries considering the "sensitive and critical political, economic and security situations on the international and regional levels."
He believes that China's role on the international stage will help address the challenges facing the Arab and Gulf countries.
"A friendly China will assume historical responsibilities, maintain international peace and security, and play a positive and outstanding role," he said.
In February 2010, with an aim to change the country's traditional oil-reliant economic structure, the Kuwaiti government unveiled "Kuwait 2035," a national development strategy to turn the country into a trade and financial hub.
In 2015, the Kuwaiti government announced plans to develop five islands off the eastern coast of the country into free trade zones.
Al-Sabah said Kuwait's strategic development plans aim to achieve a strategic transformation of the country into a diversified economy, as well as an international trade and financial center capable of attracting investment.
Merging with China's Belt and Road Initiative will help Kuwait achieve this goal, he noted.
The emir said Kuwait hopes China could help establish industrial and high-tech parks in the northern part of Kuwait, and become an important investor.
"We encourage the Chinese business and financial institutions to operate here," he added.
Currently, there are more than 40 Chinese companies operating in Kuwait with about 80 projects in progress, covering the areas of oil, infrastructure, communications and banking.
"I wish to emphasize that we are proud of the significant role which is played by Chinese enterprises in the development of our country," Al-Sabah said.
"Chinese companies are highly professional, and we are very happy to cooperate with them," he said, noting that Kuwait hopes Chinese companies will further play their role and participate in more large-scale development projects in Kuwait.
