Kuwaiti Fund to finance projects in Uzbekistan

By  Trend

The government of Uzbekistan and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) signed a memorandum of understanding, which envisages participation of the KFAED in the financing of social projects in Uzbekistan, totaling $60 million, the Foreign Ministry reported.

The document was signed in Kuwait following the meeting of Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov with Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

The KFAED has so far allocated about $150 million to the Uzbek government to implement eight projects in such areas as health care, utilities, development of transport infrastructure, irrigation networks and drainage systems.

In addition, the sides signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of higher education and research, as well as an agreement on visa-free travel for holders of diplomatic passports.

The Uzbek and Kuwaiti foreign ministers held the first round of political consultations, during which they exchanged views on a wide range of issues of bilateral and international agenda, according to the press service of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry.

The ministers confirmed their readiness to expand cooperation between the Uzbek-Kuwaiti foreign ministries and hold regular consultations to work out the ways for development of the bilateral relations in various areas, primarily in the spheres of trade, investments and joint implementation of projects.