Kuwait Times

Published Date: July 31, 2008

ZARAGOZA: Kuwait's Information Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah met here yesterday with the President of the Government of Aragon Marcelino Iglesias during which they discussed the Kuwaiti experience in the desalination of water.
The Minister signed during his meeting the official guests book which was followed by an exchange of gifts between the two officials.

Following his meeting, Sheikh Sabah said that "we came to express our gratitude and appreciation" for all the facilitations that were offered for the Kuwaiti participation in the Expo 2008. He added that during the meeting "we exchanged view points over the vital theme of the exhibition, which is water." He indicated that the Spanish side has many matters they would like to know more about over the Kuwaiti experience in the sea water desalination.

The Minister affirmed that the Spanish official informed him how there are desert Spanish provinces with a scarcity of water and would like to know the Kuwaiti experience in this field. He noted that Spain has a "pioneering experience in preserving the water resources and we would like to learn more about their experience in this field.

According to the Minister, there is a Kuwaiti delegation at the Kuwaiti pavilion from the ministry of electricity and water and the ministry of public works specialized in this issue "and we have arranged that they meet with their colleagues in the government of Aragon to exchange experiences.

He affirmed that such an exchange of visits further boosts the horizons of the bilateral relations and would help achieve the aspirations of the Kuwaiti and Spanish leadership especially following the recent visit of the Spanish King to Kuwait who was accompanied by a large delegation of businessmen.

Sheikh Sabah added that he also discussed with the Spanish official Kuwait's desire to become a trade and financial center, in addition to the investments in Europe and Spain, as well as in Kuwait. He shed light on the desire of Spain to have a new culture in the preservation of water and its resources.

The Kuwaiti Minister stressed the importance of the theme of the Expo, which is water and sustainable development, especially that water is linked to the current food crisis, saying "therefore we have to take into consideration means to preserve water resources and benefit from the pioneering experiences of the developed countries.

For his part, the Spanish official affirmed the "excellent" relations between Kuwait and Spain and thanked Kuwait for its participation in the Expo 2008 and namely the visit of the Kuwaiti Information Minister. He expressed keenness to get to know more about the Kuwaiti experience in the desalination of water and how it was able to solve its scarcity of this important resource through its use of modern techniques, indicating that this was a main issue he discussed with the Kuwaiti Minister.

He expressed desire to further boost relations between Kuwait and the Aragon as at the current time they are considered "simple." The Kuwaiti Minister was accompanied during his visit by Kuwaiti Ambassador to Spain Adel Al-Ayyar and other officials from the Information Ministry.

Following the meeting, the Minister attended along with the Kuwaiti Ambassador the Saudi National Day event that was held within the framework of the EXPO 2008 activities. The Saudi national event was attended by the Saudi Ambassador to Spain Prince Saud bin Nayef Al-Saud and the Saudi Minister of Electricity and Water among other Saudi and Spanish officials, in addition to the delegation accompanying the Kuwaiti Minister. -- KUNA