France is eager to participate in Kuwait’s national celebrations, specifically the 30th anniversary of Kuwait’s liberation from the Iraqi invasion. French Ambassador to Kuwait H.E. Anne-Claire Legendre, disclosed this at a recently held press conference at her residence.
Speaking to the media, Ambassador Legendre pointed at France’s contributions to the liberation of the country from Iraqi aggressors. “As you know, 14,000 French soldiers were involved in the liberation of Kuwait 30 years ago and 10 were killed, so this is something that will be commemorated by combatants back in France as well,” she added.
Ambassador Legendre indicated that she expected more high-level visits to Kuwait this year and noted that strategic dialogue was upgraded last November from the administrative to ministerial level, which shows “how much we want to deepen our dialogue and political relations.” She went on to say that both countries were seeking more cooperation within the health sector in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as seeking partnership in a variety of fields including defense, where France is very eager on protecting its interests in addition to the interests and security of its allies such as Kuwait.
The ambassador affirmed that her country was keen on providing assistance, whether in training or equipment, to the Kuwait Defence Ministry, citing numerous deals and training courses as an example of France eagerness to boost Kuwait’s security and defense.
On cultural, educational, health and business cooperation, the ambassador affirmed that both countries had displayed interest in finding more ways and means to take ties forward.
On medical cooperation, Ambassador Legendre stressed the importance of health care especially during the time of COVID-19, saying, “We think there is room to be involved in training more health professionals here in Kuwait.” She added that France and Kuwait had signed an agreement to train medical doctors that was implemented in 2012, but affirmed that her country was eager to bolster ties going “further and beyond.
“There are leading institutions in France that are in discussions at the moment with the Ministry of Health here in Kuwait to develop the training capacity both in terms of medical doctors such as in oncology but also in nursing and management of hospitals,” she stated.
The French embassy is working closely with the Ministry of Education to enhance the teaching of the French language in Kuwait, helping teachers and students to excel in the language both in teaching and learning capacities, Ambassador Legendre added.
Cultural cooperation will highly benefit from the upcoming celebration of the 60th anniversary of ties between Kuwait and France, she affirmed, hoping that this year includes various cultural functions to commemorate this historical event. Ambassador Legendre believed that Kuwait and France enjoyed strong business and economic relations with room to reinforce ties on both sides.
In 2019, bilateral trade amounted to around 800 million euros (US$977.9 million), said the Ambassador who expressed eagerness to continue to boost the numbers this year, with French companies eager to contribute more to business diversification of Kuwait, especially within the mainframe of 2035 vision. Ambassador Legendre also affirmed that France was eager to welcome more investments from the Kuwaiti side, finding more strategies to bring further direct foreign investments.
Speaking about the French-Kuwaiti relations, she said that the ties were deeply grounded in history and good partnership within the political domain and beyond. In 2021, both countries are eager to pursue ways to further bolster relations, affirmed the ambassador who indicated that this year was very important due to commemorating the 60th anniversary of French-Kuwaiti relationship.
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