KUWAIT: President Asif Ali Zardari was accorded a red-carpet welcome, as he arrived here Saturday evening on a two-day official visit to hold talks with the Kuwaiti leadership for further bolstering the already existing multi-faceted ties between the two brotherly countries.
President Zardari upon arrival at the Amiri airport was received by Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah, Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Speaker National Assembly Jassim Mohammad Al-Khorafi, Deputy Prime Ministers and cabinet ministers. Pakistan's Ambassador in Kuwait Iftikhar Aziz and senior Embassy officials were also present on the occasion.
The President's entourage includes: Secretary General M Salman Faruqui, Advisor to PM on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr. Asim Hussain and Spokesman to the President Farhatullah Babar.
During the welcome ceremony at the airport, President Zardari was presented a guard of honour.
President Zardari and the Crown Prince of Kuwait on this occasion also had an informal meeting and discussed matters of mutual interest.
Pakistan's Ambassador to Kuwait Iftikhar Aziz told APP that President Zardari, who earlier visited the oil-rich Arab state in February this year to participate in the celebrations marking 50 years of independence of Kuwait, was invited by Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to pay a bilateral visit.
Besides holding talks with the Kuwaiti leadership, the President during his two-day visit will also hold meeting with the heads of prominent business and investment groups in Kuwait including the Kuwait Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) and Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA).
Ambassador Aziz said the focus of President's talks with Kuwaiti leadership as well as his meetings with the heads of business and investment groups will be on enhanced trade and economic cooperation as well as increased investment in Pakistan's diverse fields, particularly infrastructure and energy sectors.
With the current volume of trade between the two countries at around two billion dollars including the annual oil imports of around one billion dollars, Kuwait is a major trading partner of Pakistan, he said and added however the level of current bilateral trade does not commensurate with the warm and historic relationship that existed between the two brotherly nations.
The Pakistani Ambassador expressed the hope that the visit of President Zardari would further bolster the bilateral relations and open up new vistas of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Around 150,000 Pakistani expatriates including skilled and non-skilled workers work in diverse fields in Kuwait were contributing to its economic development.
During the talks, the President is also expected to seek easing of visa restrictions to accommodate more skilled, semi-skilled and non-skilled Pakistani manpower.
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