UK to facilitate Kuwaiti investments

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has said his country welcomes Kuwaiti investments, both state and private, in London as well as in other British cities and is willing to iron out any difficulties, in an interview here Sunday. The mayor, due on a two-day official visit to the State of Kuwait as of Monday, told KUNA that it was his duty as mayor to encourage Kuwaiti investments in London. He noted the announcement of the Kuwaiti Government of increase of investments in the UK and in London in particular was most welcome. The Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Mustafa Al-Shimali, had in July announced the intention to hike investments in the UK and other countries in the infrastructure sector through Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). On the goal of his first Kuwait visit, Johnson said he is to meet with senior officials in government and in KIA, as well as with businessmen to discuss good investment opportunities in the British capital. He said he hopes to attract new investments to London, while at the same time providing London-based businesses and companies the opportunity to find partners in Kuwait. On volume of Kuwaiti investments in London, Johnson said, "We insist on seeing even higher volume, and so the Kuwait visit program is rich in important meetings, befitting the strong relations between the two nations." The official said he would be conveying a message to Kuwaiti officials; "that the British Capital is a city open to investment and would provide all required facilities to attract foreign capital." Represented by Kuwait Investment Office in London, the State of Kuwait is among the top investors in the British capital, and the office is a main player in the British market as it manages investment projects worth no less than GBP 150 billion. UK exports to Kuwait had increased by 17 percent in 2012, following an official visit to Kuwait by British Prime Minister David Cameron in 2011