Kuwait, China to boost ties in all possible fields: Kuwaiti envoy

KUWAIT - Kuwait's Ambassador to China Sameeh Johar Hayat said Saturday that his country and China are eager to boost relations "on all possible domains."

Hayat told the official KUNA news agency that a Chinese delegation is to pay a four-day visit to Kuwait starting on Monday, in a bid to "look into means to bolster strategic ties."

"The visit will contribute to the development of ties and will hopefully add to the Kuwaiti leadership's vision to turn Kuwait into an international commercial and economic hub," the Kuwaiti envoy said.

Hayat noted that the "Kuwait 2035" plan and China's Belt and Road Initiative have much in common, and the upcoming Kuwaiti-Chinese meetings "will focus on finding links between the two plans and connecting the dots."

He added that the Chinese delegation will be informed about the latest progress in several Kuwaiti development projects, while "looking into ways to provide Chinese expertise and experience."

"Kuwait 2035," or Kuwait National Development Plan, is a newly-unveiled grand economic plan aimed at transforming the country into a regional financial and cultural hub by 2035 via 164 strategic development projects. It also aims to increase foreign direct investment by 300 percent.

The Belt and Road Initiative, first put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is aimed at building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road through concerted efforts of all related countries and benefiting all participants by promoting unimpeded trade, financial integration, connectivity of infrastructure and closer people-to-people exchanges.