Kuwait's emir arrives in Manila for 5-day visit

MANILA, Philippines - Kuwait’s emir Saba Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah arrived in the country yesterday for a five-day state visit that is expected to boost economic relations between Kuwait and the Philippines.

President Aquino welcomed Al-Sabah in Malacañang, where they held a bilateral meeting and witnessed the signing of several agreements.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on agricultural and fisheries cooperation, agreement on the waiver of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic, special and official passports, executive program for the cultural agreement for 2012 to 2014, and memorandum of understanding on labor cooperation.

Al-Saba is scheduled to unveil the marker for the Sabah Al-Ahmad Global Gateway Logistics City at the Clark Export Processing Zone on Tuesday.

The Philippines opened the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Kuwait City in 2009 to boost economic cooperation with Kuwait and facilitate several business matching conferences between Filipino and Kuwaiti businessmen.

Kuwait currently hosts more than 140,000 Filipino expatriates, ranking as the fourth largest expatriate community in that country, after the Indians, Egyptians, and Bengalis. 

In 2009, Kuwait passed a labor law designed to promote the welfare of workers in its private sector.

Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Shulan Primavera earlier said economic diplomacy is one of the current thrusts of the Aquino administration aimed at seeking potential foreign investors for Philippine development projects.

Kuwaiti investments in the Philippines include the $2-billion Kuwait and Gulf Link Co. (KGL) in Clark Field in Pampanga, the acquisition of Negros Navigation and interest in Metro Rail Transit (MRT) system and Intishar’s 500-hectare banana plantation in Davao, Primavera said.