British Ambassador bids farewell, celebrates deepening UK-Kuwait ties
As she nears the end of her tenure, British Ambassador to Kuwait, Her Excellency Belinda Lewis, hosted journalists at her official residence to reflect on her four years in the country and the enduring strength of UK-Kuwait relations.
Lewis praised the “special and long-standing” partnership between the two nations, noting that 2025 will mark 250 years of bilateral trade. She expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Kuwaiti people for their warmth and hospitality, recalling her experiences at Ramadan diwaniyas and the traditional Al-Qaffal ceremony as cultural highlights.
Among recent milestones, Lewis cited the rollout of the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) scheme in February 2024 for Kuwaiti nationals as a key development in strengthening people-to-people connections. In 2024, Kuwaiti citizens made 162,000 visits to the UK — a 6% increase from 2023 — supported by 19 weekly Kuwait Airways flights to London and Manchester.
She also celebrated the growing number of Kuwaiti students choosing the UK for higher education, with over 10,000 currently enrolled in British universities.
Looking back at landmark diplomatic moments, Lewis highlighted joint events commemorating 125 years of UK-Kuwait diplomatic relations. These included His Highness the Amir’s meeting with King Charles III in Scotland and his Guest of Government visit to London in August 2023, marking 70 years since the founding of Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund. That visit saw the signing of a historic investment partnership with the UK.
During her tenure, His Highness visited the UK five times, while Kuwait hosted four UK Cabinet Ministers, most recently Foreign Secretary David Lammy MP, alongside other high-level officials and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Lewis expressed optimism about the near conclusion of a UK-GCC Free Trade Agreement and emphasized the UK and Kuwait’s growing international humanitarian cooperation. She praised joint efforts to deliver critical aid to Gaza, Yemen, Sudan, and Somalia, including coordinated funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
Concluding her remarks, Lewis shared her confidence that her successor, Qudsi Rasheed, arriving in September, will find great fulfillment in his new role. She voiced strong belief that the UK-Kuwait partnership — across trade, security, education, culture, and climate — will continue to flourish in the years ahead.
