Turkey, Kuwait sign defense alliance deal

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey and Kuwait signed a total of eight agreements regarding aviation, higher education, livestock breeding, culture and arts, visa exemption and defense, following a meeting held at the Presidential Residence, with the participation of the President, Abdullah Gül and Kuwaiti Amir, Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jabir al-Sabah.

A particular agreement seeking to strengthen the ties in the field of defense, “The Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Defense and Industry between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Government of the State of Kuwait,” was signed between the Minister of Defense, İsmet Yılmaz and the Deputy Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, Sheikh Sabah Khalid al-Hamad al-Sabah, as reported by the Anatolian news agency yesterday.

At the meeting there was a high level of participation, with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazıcı and Turkey’s Ambassador to Kuwait Murat Tamer all in attendance. Various dimensions of the bilateral ties were discussed, particularly regarding political and economic issues.

Regional cooperation

Expanding the bilateral trade volume and taking the necessary measures to increase the amount of reciprocal investments were discussed during the meeting, while opinions on regional and international issues, including Syria and Cyprus, were exchanged.

Davutoğlu also met his Kuwaiti counterpart al-Sabah at the Presidential Residence, who was accompanying Amir al-Sabah in his official delegation to Turkey. Both sides expressed their contentment over the signing of eight agreements aimed at fostering bilateral ties, while addressing the need to cooperate within the international institutions.

Davutoğlu expressed their will to cooperate more effectively with Kuwait in economic and financial issues, while both sides confirmed their desire for wider participation of Turkish businessmen and contractors in Kuwaiti projects.