Kuwait Fund grants loan for Belgrade station

BELGRADE Kuwaiti Ambassador Fawzi Abdulaziz Ahmad Al-Jasem says the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development granted Serbia a EUR 25 million loan. The money will be used for the construction of the main railway station Prokop in Belgrade. Kuwait Fund grants loan for Belgrade station The diplomat also underlined that Kuwait stands ready to invest in Serbia. In an interview to Tanjug, he said that with Monday's approval of the loan to Serbia, the fund completed a complex procedure which took almost two years. The ambassador announced that a Kuwaiti delegation would come to Belgrade in late November or early December to sign a loan agreement, and specified that relates to the second phase of the railway station project. The Fund officials have already said that they have nothing against the continuation of the loan-granting process in the third, and fourth phase, if Serbia would want that, he said. The opportunities for investments under the jurisdiction of the Kuwaiti Investment Agency are being considered in Kuwait, and many Kuwaiti businessmen are coming to Serbia to see what possibilities for cooperation the country offers. Al-Jasem underlined that the role of the chambers of commerce should be strengthened, and that the Kuwaiti market is open to products from Serbia. The logistics that would facilitate the export is needed, taking into account that Serbia has no sea and no port, which affects the pricing, he added. The Serbian side should also launch an initiative, with the support of the embassy, and organize a promotion of Serbian products in Kuwait, he added. Al-Jasem qualified as positive the Serbian government's commitment to strengthening the relations with the Arab world, and stressed that Kuwait wants the same. He noted that the political relations between Serbia and Kuwait are traditionally good since the times of the former Yugoslavia, the establishment of diplomatic relations and opening of the embassies in Kuwait and Belgrade in 1973. The diplomatic relations were not suspended even during the 1990s when the Kuwaiti Embassy in Belgrade was closed, he underscored. The Belgrade Embassy in Kuwait has always been open, he recalled, noting that the bilateral relations had not deteriorated even after Kuwait's decision to recognize Kosovo, which is illustrated by efforts aimed at developing the economic cooperation. Fawzi Abdulaziz Ahmad Al-Jasem (Tanjug) Tanjug

Kuwait Fund grants loan for Belgrade station

The diplomat also underlined that Kuwait stands ready to invest in Serbia.

In an interview to Tanjug, he said that with Monday's approval of the loan to Serbia, the fund completed a complex procedure which took almost two years.

The ambassador announced that a Kuwaiti delegation would come to Belgrade in late November or early December to sign a loan agreement, and specified that relates to the second phase of the railway station project.

The Fund officials have already said that they have nothing against the continuation of the loan-granting process in the third, and fourth phase, if Serbia would want that, he said.

The opportunities for investments under the jurisdiction of the Kuwaiti Investment Agency are being considered in Kuwait, and many Kuwaiti businessmen are coming to Serbia to see what possibilities for cooperation the country offers.

Al-Jasem underlined that the role of the chambers of commerce should be strengthened, and that the Kuwaiti market is open to products from Serbia.

The logistics that would facilitate the export is needed, taking into account that Serbia has no sea and no port, which affects the pricing, he added.

The Serbian side should also launch an initiative, with the support of the embassy, and organize a promotion of Serbian products in Kuwait, he added.

Al-Jasem qualified as positive the Serbian government's commitment to strengthening the relations with the Arab world, and stressed that Kuwait wants the same.

He noted that the political relations between Serbia and Kuwait are traditionally good since the times of the former Yugoslavia, the establishment of diplomatic relations and opening of the embassies in Kuwait and Belgrade in 1973.

The diplomatic relations were not suspended even during the 1990s when the Kuwaiti Embassy in Belgrade was closed, he underscored.

The Belgrade Embassy in Kuwait has always been open, he recalled, noting that the bilateral relations had not deteriorated even after Kuwait's decision to recognize Kosovo, which is illustrated by efforts aimed at developing the economic cooperation.