President Masum to start official visit to Kuwait on Monday
Iraqi President Fuad Masum
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – President Fuad Masum is scheduled to start an official visit to Kuwait on Monday at the head of a high-profile ministerial delegation.
The visit comes at an invitation from Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
During the visit, Masum and his accompanying delegation will hold talks with Kuwaiti officials on preparations for a Kuwait-hosted donor conference for the reconstruction of Iraq’s liberated areas, scheduled to be held in February, a source at Masum’s presidential office said on Sunday, adding that Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji and Transport Minister Kazem el Hammami will accompany Masum on his visit.
It is the first time for an Iraqi president to pay a visit to Kuwait since 2008.
In September, Kuwait announced that arrangements were underway for an international donor conference to rebuild Iraqi areas liberated from the Islamic State (IS), and urged Baghdad to provide suitable investment and economic environment for reconstruction.
Kuwait is waiting for a study that will pinpoint the exact damage and needs “in order to make it easy for the donor countries to specify the size and form of their contributions,” Kuwait’s First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said Kuwait has always been supporting Iraq in its fight against terrorism with the objective of restoring security and stability nationwide.
Iraq, he added, should also provide incentives to encourage foreign companies invest in the country, besides carrying out economic and administrative reforms.