Kuwaiti-Egyptian Higher Cmte kicks off, bilateral ties hailed

Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs Ambassador Abdulrahman Salah on Sunday commended the strong ties with Kuwait.
Egypt and Kuwait have always supported each other at all times, especially at times of distress, Salah told KUNA after he co-chaired today's meeting of the Kuwaiti-Egyptian Higher Committee at the level of senior officials.
The Kuwaiti delegation was led by Director of the Arab World Department at the Foreign Ministry Ambassador Abdulhameed Al-Failakawi.
He also commended Kuwait's support to Egypt over the recent years, under His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, especially after June 30 events.
Kuwait's support has not been confined to financial aid, but also investments flowed to help the Egyptian economy recover, Salah said.
Meanwhile, he referred to bilateral trade, which is below expectations, saying a dual taxation agreement is likely to remove barriers and encourage businessmen and investors.
The Egyptian senior official expressed hope the Higher Committee would agree to boost bilateral cooperation for assisting other Arab and Africa countries, through the Egyptian Partnership Agency for Development and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED).
He pointed to a rise of Kuwaiti tourism to Egypt.
Salah wished Kuwait would take part in the international economic conference Egypt intends to organize in March, saying they agreed today that economic teams from both sides will meet to discuss the issue.
He hoped both sides would agree to declare 2015 "Egypt's year in Kuwait" at the media, culture and tourism levels.
Kuwait was the guest of honor at the 2014 Cairo International Book Fair.
For his part, head of the Kuwaiti delegation Ambassador Abdulhameed Al-Failakawi, said today's manifested a matching of views regarding bilateral ties, Arab issues and topics of common interest.
The meeting discussed major issues on the Arab scene, especially developments in Syria, Libya, Palestine, Yemen and Somalia, the Kuwaiti senior official told KUNA.
He said the two sides also addressed a host of agreements, MoUs and executive programs relevant to bilateral ties. These will be signed during the Committee ministerial meeting on Tuesday.
They include a cooperation agreement between Kuwait's Saud Nasser Al-Sabah Diplomatic Institute and the Egyptian Institute of Diplomatic Studies, he said.
In addition, the senior officials also addressed enhancing cooperation in media, education, oil, housing, sports, culture, industry and maritime transport.
The Kuwaiti-Egyptian Higher Committee wraps up three-day meetings at the ministerial level on Tuesday, to be chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.