KUWAIT CITY, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Regarding the National Day marking China's 69th birthday, people of different walks of life in Kuwait expressed congratulations to the Chinese government and people, calling for a closer bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Mohammad Abulla Abulhasan, advisor to the Amiri Diwan of Kuwait which serves the royal palace of Kuwaiti Emir, reviewed that Kuwait is the first Gulf Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with China.
"When we look at the status of the Kuwaiti-Chinese relations, we find that they have moved forward with very big leaps," he said.
Abulhasan was the second Kuwaiti ambassador to China during the period 1975 to 1978 after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1971.
Kuwaiti-Chinese relations have opened new horizons in all fields such as economy, trade, investment, education, culture, energy, and infrastructure, he noted.
The former ambassador speaks highly of the current relations between the two countries.
"The relations between Kuwait and China have become a model. Concerning the future, I believe that the memorandums of understanding and the agreements signed during the visit by the emir will open new horizons not only inside Kuwait, but also for the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative," he noted.
The Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah paid a state visit to China from July 7 to 10 this year, during which the two countries agreed to establish a strategic partnership to inject new impetus into bilateral ties and open up new prospects in the new era.
Abulhasan hoped that Kuwait would be the first country in the Gulf region for the Chinese capacity to use as a base to move to neighboring markets such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq and Iran, and to Africa.
Anwar Alshriaan, the president of Kuwait University faculty association, said that the global political and economic situation has changed in recent years and China has become one of the most important economic powers in the world.
Kuwait has no other strategic choice but to partner with China at this stage, he said, noting that China is manufacturing almost for the whole world.
"China is not only manufacturing goods, but also turning towards the industry of technology and services," he added.
He pointed out that China is about to be among the top countries in the world soon economically, culturally and educationally, expressing the hope that Kuwait would attract some distinguished visiting professors from Chinese universities in the coming years.
As of the media area, Saad Ali Mohammad, chief of editors and deputy director general of Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) for Editorial Division, said that there are historical ties between KUNA and the China's state news agency Xinhua News Agency.
There is cooperation between the two agencies, he said, adding that he hopes to enhance bilateral cooperation between the media of the two countries.
The Kuwaiti side is keen to strengthen cooperation with Chinese media and boost the presence of Kuwaiti media in China, he noted, saying that the recent visit of the Kuwaiti emir gave great impetus for this issue.
"Agreements signed during the visit require the Kuwaiti and Chinese media to give ideas to promote cooperation between the two countries," he said.
Nasser Al Khalidi, consular for Youth Public Authority of Kuwait, visited several factories and cities in China last April.
"I am encouraged by the development I saw there during the past two decades in many fields, especially communications and electronics, which gave us more motivation to develop ourselves and benefit from Chinese experience," he noted.
Kamel Al Abdul Jalil, director general of National Library of Kuwait, told Xinhua that the Chinese embassy in Kuwait has donated about 1,000 books to the library to promote bilateral cultural exchange between China and Kuwait.
The books cover fields of history, economy, tourism, culture and the ancient heritage which represents the great civilization of China, he stressed.
"There are many areas in which we can cooperate with the Chinese side to boost the culture, knowledge and arts in Kuwait," he said.
He pointed out that Kuwait will host the third meeting between the Chinese and the Arab library experts in May next year.
The meeting aims at exchanging views, information and experiences on aspects of cooperation and joint coordination between the Chinese and Arab libraries, he said.
The event is held regularly every two years under the auspices of the League of Arab States, he told Xinhua, saying that the first meeting was held in March 2015 in Cairo, and the second in May 2017 in Beijing.
