Mr. Fellner added that international trade in terms of exports and imports to and from Kuwait has witnessed significant momentum during the same period, where exports rose from KWD 6.1 billions to KWD 14.4 billions (about 55%), while imports increased from KWD 3.2 billions to KWD 5.1 billions. During his presentation, Mr. Fellner spoke about the most important factors that must be addressed when talking about promoting trade exchange, pointing to international laws, the nature of governmental departments, strategies, as well as tariff, fees, etc. The Future of Kuwait Mr. Rashid Al-Tabtabai, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, has revealed the Kuwaiti plan pertaining to reviewing the trade policy that is intended to be initiated in December 2011, which will help to strengthen its position among the countries acceding to World Trade Organization. Global Challenges With regard to the overall economic vision and its impact on the support of international trade relations, Mr. R. Seetharaman, the Chief Executive Officer of Doha Bank Group, said: “Nations of the world are now trying to get out of the clutches of the global financial crisis. Many counties have succeeded in this endeavor, especially the emerging economies, which include the Gulf States that have achieved a major improvement in their revenues with the increase of oil prices worldwide to their pre-crisis levels.” Mr. Seetharaman touched on the relationship between the increase in global trade rates on one hand and the increase in the domestic demand on consumer goods and natural resources on the other hand, pointing out that the GCC region, being one of the major energy producers in the world, will have a very significant and leading role in advancing international trade. He expected that Kuwait will witness a significant recovery in the coming period with respect to the levels of international trade for a number of reasons; first of which is related to the Kuwaiti vision to be transformed to a global financial and trade center, in addition to its distinguished geographical location, and also introducing development plans to attract international and regional companies to invest in Kuwait, which will enhance the freedom of import and export activities. As for world economy, Mr. Seetharaman stressed that the emerging markets, like Russia, India and China, will have the leading part in the economic journey in the coming days, as they witness developmental movements and economic activities that will assist these economies to transform to distinct industrial and commercial countries worldwide. This is in addition to the major powers which are expected to witness a growth in their GDP ratios. Regarding the reason behind selecting international trade as the subject of Doha Bank’s seminar, Mr. Seetharaman pointed out that the bank has a permanent interaction with the economic events that benefit economy in general and customers in particular. He added that the emergence of the role of world trade and the necessity of strengthening it today are the most important elements that must be accomplished to support the economies that are exposed to recession. Kuwaiti-Qatari Relationship Mr. Seetharaman has praised the economic relationship between Kuwait and Qatar, expecting that it will witness more momentum in the next years, especially that there are huge amounts exceeding USD 50 billions allocated for developing infrastructure and achieving a number of vital and big projects. Mr. Seetharaman has invited and urged the Kuwaiti companies to enter into joint investments with Qatar to ensure the promotion of mutual investment opportunities, stressing that Doha Bank will continue supporting these relations through its branches in both countries. Concerning his expectations on the future of trade and investment relations between Qatar and Kuwait during the coming period, Mr. Seetharaman referred to the strength of the economy of both countries and their financial solvency in supporting the common developmental projects for the public interest of all parties. Mr. Seetharaman expected an increase in the bilateral investments between the two countries over the coming years, especially in the area of real estate investment. He also referred to the developmental projects undertaken by Qatar during the last period, in addition to those that are to be achieved in the coming years and enormous amounts that have been allocated for the same after being awarded the honor of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. |