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KUWAIT: The Embassy of Spain held a ghabqa attended by members of the native media. Kuwait Occasions was represented by Public Relations and CSR Supervisor Jana Al-Naqeeb. Spanish Ambassador to Kuwait Miguel Maro Aguilar gave the next speech on the event: Firstly, please let me take this chance to begin by conveying a heat message of congratulations to HH the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and to HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal, on the event of the Ramadan celebrations, and lengthen our greatest needs for the individuals of Kuwait in these vital festivities for all Muslims all through the world, together with Spain.
Our bilateral relations are robust – strengthened by the normal friendship between the Royal Homes of the 2 nations. Fruitful political consultations had been held in Madrid final June 2022 on the stage of Vice Minister of International affairs, the place many points had been mentioned together with excessive stage contacts. The Joint Commerce Committee mentioned methods to extend the amount of our bilateral trade, the cooperation within the realms of protection, cultural or within the promotion of the Spanish language, science, or sports activities. Many problems with worldwide and regional dimension had been mentioned.
Actual hallmark
Let me level out that there’s certainly a big house of understanding and for collaboration between each nations. I sincerely hope that quickly, there might be a normalized cycle of high-level visits in each instructions, giving an impulse to those multifaceted relations. Kuwait Airways introduced formally in Madrid final September its first direct flight between each capitals in nearly 40 years, in addition to an settlement with the Spanish Air Europa for a shared code settlement, an actual hallmark in our relationships and a beautiful bridge for each nations to enhance our hyperlinks in all fields.
Essential new avenues are any further to be explored and rendered efficient. The primary bilateral Joint Financial and Commerce Committee happened in Madrid on November 14 and 15, 2022, which was a trademark in our bilateral relations. I might additionally like to say right here that round 600 Spaniards live in Kuwait now. I’m proud to say that they’re a well-integrated group current in nearly each sector: training, enterprise, sports activities, engineering. They’re a really beneficial a part of these individuals to individuals relationship between Spain and Kuwait, and I need to thank them for his or her contribution.
Moreover, let me emphasize the worth of the EU-Kuwait relations. Spain, as one of many largest EU nations, is absolutely dedicated to the strengthening of those relations and from subsequent July, we’ll maintain the six-month Presidency of the Council, when will attempt to give an impulse to the EU-GCC and EU-Kuwait relations. A Spanish Enterprise Council was created final yr, which I hope will certainly assist to offer our financial relations extra vitality and visibility. We already get pleasure from a strategic partnership, sure to develop exponentially within the subsequent few years, if all of us make the suitable choices and take the enough steps.
I sincerely suppose we are able to do higher to enhance our cultural hyperlinks, in each instructions. Spanish tradition is well-known all around the world and Kuwait individuals, because of their particular bond with Spain, actually like each facet of our tradition. As an illustration, flamenco may be very fashionable in Kuwait, in addition to the Spanish gastronomy. What can we are saying about Spanish sports activities like soccer or tennis!, Each Actual Madrid and Barcelona have academies in Kuwait and even Rafael Nadal inaugurated his fabulous academy right here.
Bringing Spanish artists
On this spirit, we’re working onerous to convey Spanish artists to Kuwait. On account of these endeavors, a Spanish duo enjoying guitar and violin will carry out a live performance right here in Kuwait on Could 14th, with the a lot appreciated collaboration of the Nationwide Council. There’s a enormous potential however extra have to be accomplished. On this regard, the tutorial exchanges and internships are very important. Yearly dozens of Kuwaitis go to Spain, most of them, for post-graduate research in a few of our glorious enterprise faculties.
A number of younger Kuwaitis come to our nation too, because of the generosity of the Kuwait Fund so as to work in a number of the finest corporations of engineering and structure. Alternatively, I wish to spotlight the contribution of Al Babtain Basis to advertise, in collaboration with a number of Spanish Universities, the research and analysis of the Arabic language and its literature. Many children are studying Spanish in Kuwait and yearly the official exams of Spanish as international language are maintain. We need to encourage an increasing number of individuals to beginning studying Spanish, doubtlessly that might be an important funding within the relations between our nations.
Sadly, there’s not an Institute Cervantes, the Spanish entity in command of selling our language, however I had the possibility to fulfill many academics of Spanish as a international language who’re doing an important job within the Institut FranÁais, the American College of Kuwait, the Gulf College or in Kuwait College. I actually wish to work with them in order that we are able to all collectively increase consciousness in regards to the significance of the Spanish language.
Financial, commerce relations
Financial and commerce relations between Kuwait and Spain have intensified with a sustained improve in Spanish exports (from €149 million in 2009 to €394 million euros in 2022). The Spanish imports from Kuwait have additionally elevated 145% till €133 million in 2022, primarily oil merchandise. There’s a commerce stability favorable to Spain, with a variety of Spanish exports in comparison with imports concentrated in oil, plastics and chemical merchandise and the excessive relative weight of clothes gadgets. The primary chapters exported had been mechanical equipment, non-knitwear (14%), knitwear (9%), fuels (7%) and ceramics (5%).
The primary chapters imported had been mechanical equipment… (50%), natural chemical merchandise (30%) and plastics (14%). Clothes in our export, particularly the INDITEX group amongst others, leads to the in depth presence of scores of trend manufacturers underneath franchise within the main malls and procuring facilities within the nation. There’s a rising variety of Spanish corporations (14), with awarded tasks price €4,300 million in varied fields of exercise, (infrastructure and engineering, oil and gasoline, well being, safety…), and a higher stream of Kuwaiti traders in Spain lately.
Institutionally, the Settlement to Keep away from Double Taxation (2013) and several other Memoranda of Understanding of financial content material are serving to to the strengthening of current relations. There isn’t any information accessible on our companies commerce with Kuwait and its classification however they’re undoubtedly an vital a part of our relationship.
Tourism, transport
The primary companies demanded by Kuwait are tourism, transport and insurance coverage operations. On tourism, let me inform you first that Spain was visited in the previous few years by nearly 90 million individuals (apart from the Pandemic interval), making our nation the second most visited worldwide. Spain can also be a standard vacation spot throughout holidays for a lot of Kuwaiti households. Tens of 1000’s of Kuwaitis journey to Spain yearly, amongst them a substantial quantity even personal their very own properties, particularly within the south of the nation.
Spain gives top quality companies with very aggressive costs and past the well-known slogan “Spain all the things underneath the solar”, our nation has many extra issues to supply, reminiscent of the most effective soccer league on the planet, an important gastronomy with scores of Michelin. Starred cooks, an unbelievable number of landscapes, an impressive structure, a whole lot of thrilling golf programs or nice procuring services all around the nation are solely a number of the engaging options in our nation. Spain is filled with fantastic websites and cities, a wealthy nature and quite a lot of landscapes. I can solely suggest you to discover it and revel in it.
The exercise of our consular part concerning the visas is hectic. On common, we difficulty between 25,000 and 30,000 visas per yr, most of them through the summer season season. We’re additionally answerable for Bahrain visas at our Embassy. We don’t solely difficulty visas for tourism, additionally for college kids, businessmen or for medical causes, which exhibits the range of our relationships. In Well being, yearly a whole lot of Kuwaiti residents sponsored by the Ministry of Well being, or on their very own expense, journey to Spain for well being causes. The Spanish well being system is among the finest and extra strong ones within the World and It’s time now to spice up all type of cooperation and trade data and finest practices.
We are able to point out in that regard the latest settlement with the Spanish Ribera Salud for the administration and operation of the DHAMAN healthcare community inside the framework of an built-in well being upkeep group system, with 3 hospitals, 15 major care facilities and about 7,000 staff. The target of this nice PPP venture is to alleviate the general public well being by means of extra environment friendly non-public administration.
Railway venture
One other space of potential, cooperation is the Railway venture within the GCC and in Kuwait. Let me spotlight the vital cooperation within the area and specifically in Saudi Arabia, which has a number of tasks with Spanish corporations. Specifically, I might point out the Haramain Excessive Velocity Rail, able to reaching speeds of roughly 320 km/h, an electrified line with a size of greater than 300 kilometers. Spanish corporations are very aggressive within the provide of electrified high-speed rolling inventory, extra respectful with the setting and extra environment friendly in vitality consumption. As regards the renewable vitality, Kuwait has introduced its dedication to spice up renewable vitality to succeed in the 15 % in 2030.
We now have to level out that for Shagaya’s solar energy station, the Spanish firm TSK has developed and is working the most important venture within the space and within the nation. ELECNOR and GAMESA are additionally a part of the primary wind tasks in the identical Shagaya space. Spain needs to turn out to be one of many main European hubs in inexperienced hydrogen produced solely from renewable vitality. We’re able to collaborate with Kuwait on this discipline and within the Renewable energies on the whole. There may be room for enchancment concerning the cooperation between Kuwait and Spain in science and expertise.
We need to enhance this cooperation, and on the eleventh of Could, the Director Normal for the Heart for the Improvement of Expertise and Business will go to Kuwait to discover new methods of collaboration between each nations. As Ambassador of Spain in Kuwait, I wish to categorical my gratitude to all of the Kuwaiti individuals who have proven me, from the very first minute, their love and fondness of Spain. I really feel myself at house, so usually surrounded of so many buddies of my nation. This encourages me to maintain on working together with the authorities and the Kuwaiti society in order that collectively we construct a fair stronger friendship between our two nations.
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