Kuwait speaker affirms strong ties with Albania during visit

Visiting Speaker of Kuwait\'s National Assembly Jassem Al-Kharafi on Friday affirmed strong ties bounding Kuwait with Albania at various levels. Speaking at a joint news conference with his Albanian counterpart, Jozefina Topalli, following talks held at the parliament building, the speaker said the discussions dealt with various issues concerning the two sides. Al-Kharafi noted that Albania stood alongside Kuwait during the aggression by forces of the ousted Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein in 1990, affirming that the Kuwaiti leadership and people would remain grateful for the Albanians for supporting the just national cause. \"This stance toward the Kuwaiti just cause signaled the closeness of the bilateral ties and the bonds of friendship bounding the two countries, a friendship based on mutual respect,\" the speaker stated. He also expressed appreciation for the warm hospitality, accorded to him and the accompanying delegation, and invited his Albanian counterpart to visit Kuwait. For her part, Topalli labeled the ties with Kuwait as solid and excellent, vowing that she would seek, at her forecast visit to Kuwait, to enhance these ties further and try to broaden the scope of mutual cooperation between the two countries. Elaborating at the news conference, the chief Albanian legislator indicated at the special relationship bounding HH the Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, with his Albanian counterpart, Sali Berisha. Praising Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), she noted that the fund had given the nation USD eight million as a loan for funding infrastructural projects in the country\'s six governorates. The Kuwaiti fund had also presented USD 12 million to finance a project for water desalination, in addition to USD 13 million for a main road project. Kuwaiti and Albanian lawmakers attended the meeting between Al-Kharafi and Topalli. The Kuwaiti delegation, including MPs Ali Al-Omair, Muhammad Hayef Al-Mutairi and Faisal Al-Duwaisan, arrived in arrived in Tirana on Thursday starting a three-day official mission. The legislators\' regional mission includes Kosovo.