Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled meets Chinese FM

Kuwait's First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah held talks on Friday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on ways of further cementing bilateral relations and cooperation. The two senior officials also discussed a host of issues of mutual interest. The meeting was attended by Kuwait's Ambassador to China Mohammad Al-Thuwaikh, Director of Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled's office Ambassador Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Mohammad Al-Sabah, Director of the Foreign Ministry's GCC Department Ambassador Nasser Al-Muzayen, Kuwait's Consul General in Abdulwahab Al-Saqer and Kuwai's Consul General in Hong Kong Khaled Al-Mutairi. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled is visiting Beijing to chair the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) side to the Third Strategic Dialogue with China, due today. The two sides, through the dialogue, seek closer economic, trade and political relations with ultimate objective of establishing a free trade zone. Kuwaiti Ambassador in Beijing Mohammad Al-Thuwaikh has said relations with China would witness a new leap especially in the economic and trade spheres. He called for exploring cooperation in new domains like environment, desertification and renewable energy. He said trade exchange between Kuwait and China registered USD 12 billion in 2013, and the two countries sought to increase it to over USD 15 billion over the next two years. The two countries are cooperating in investment and this has been seen in the establishment of a new refinery in southern China "and we hope the private sector in Kuwait would explore investment opportunities in China, and we have to encourage the Chinese to invest in Kuwait," said Al-Thuwaikh.