The Ambassador of Belgium to Kuwait H.E. Piet Heirbaut hosted a reception at his residence on 17 November to mark the occasion of his country’s King’s Day. The Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs H.E. Waleed Al Khubaizi was the chief guest at the function, which was attended by members of the diplomatic corps, Kuwaiti officials and media personnel.
Speaking on the occasion, Belgian Ambassador Piet Heirbaut lauded the relations between Belgian and Kuwait as positive, excellent and solid, based on a framework of trust and mutual respect. He stated, “We share historical and developed relations at all levels and in various fields of cooperation, and these relations are under the special patronage of the political leadership of both countries.”
“At the political level, we have many commonalities with Kuwait, in terms of the foreign policy of the two friendly countries, through our belief in dialogue as an effective means of resolving conflicts and bringing peace,” he added.
On the regional and international arenas, he underscored Kuwaiti diplomacy efforts are distinguished, and is considered one of the most important players in supporting the stability and achieving balance in the region.
Ambassador Heirbaut praised the Kuwait 2035 developmental plan, which he described as ambitious, and emphasized the readiness of Belgian companies to contribute to major projects within it.
For his part Ambassador Al Khubaizi remarked that this year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Kuwait and Belgium. He said Kuwait was keen to promote and strengthen existing bilateral trade and investments with Belgium
He added, “We are working towards increasing the volume of trade between the two countries, which amounted to approximately KD74 million in non-oil derivatives during 2018.” Pointing out that Kuwait Petroleum Corporation already owns over 400 gas stations in Belgium, he revealed that Kuwait intends to increase the volume of investments in Belgium that amounted to US$823 million last year.
He underscored that there are five agreements signed between the two countries, in addition to three memorandums of understanding, and that Kuwait is looking forward to signing more agreements, in order to contribute to strengthening bilateral relations.
Every year since 1866, King’s Day has been celebrated on 15 November in honor of the reigning Belgian monarch. The day also marks the first day of the Feast of Saint Leopold in the German liturgical calendar, while it is the Feast of Saint Albert in the Roman Catholic calendar.
