The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, received yesterday in Madrid her Kuwaiti counterpart, Ahmed Al Nasser Al Sabha, with whom she signed three agreements and discussed opportunities to intensify economic cooperation in the framework of the recovery.
With his stay in Madrid, the Kuwaiti minister returned the visit paid by González Laya on April 11. On that occasion, the Spanish delegation was forced to interrupt the trip after one of its members tested positive for coronavirus upon arrival in Kuwait, the first stop on a Middle East tour that also included Iraq. However, the Minister had time to meet the Prime Minister, Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Sabah, and her counterpart, who promised to visit Spain in the near future.
Ahmed Al Nasser Al Sabha was received yesterday by King Philip VI and later by Minister González Laya, with whom he signed three agreements: a new memorandum of understanding to develop and systematize political consultations, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between diplomatic schools and the addendum to the bilateral agreement on the abolition of visas for holders of diplomatic passports (which will include holders of service and special passports).
During their meeting, the two ministers discussed the bilateral agenda and opportunities to intensify economic cooperation between the two countries, taking advantage among others of the recovery plan after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Precisely, during her interrupted trip to Kuwait, the minister intended to meet with the director general of Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, KIO, Farouq Bastaki, to discuss the investment possibilities opened up by the Recovery Plan, as she had done during her previous trips to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. González Laya was accompanied by several Spanish businessmen. In Kuwait there is already a strong Spanish business presence in both traditional and new sectors, such as renewable energies. In fact, two Spanish companies, Elecnor and TSK, have been awarded the only renewable energy projects in the Emirate.
