LONDON: A Kuwait investment conference was launched in London on Tuesday as part of celebrations of 125 years of Kuwait-UK bilateral relations and the 70th anniversary of the opening of the Kuwait Investment Office in London. Attending the conference are Kuwaiti Minister of Finance and State Minister for Economic and Investment Affairs Dr Anwar Al-Mudhaf, Assistant Foreign Minister Ambassador Sadeq Maarafi and Kuwaiti Ambassador to Britain Bader Al-Awadhi.

From the British side, State Minister for Middle East and North Africa, Lord Tariq Ahmad, State Minister for Business and Trade Dominic Johnson and British Ambassador to Kuwait Belinda Lewis are attending. The conference will address three main topics: Finance and investments bolstering bilateral relations, the 125th year of Kuwaiti-British relations, as well as technological advancements and digital innovation.

The conference, overseen by the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority, comes at a time when relations are undergoing continuous improvements, with facilitations of travel permits. On an economic level, total trade between March 2022 to March 2023 reached more than £5.7 billion ($7.23 billion), a 118.3 percent surge.

UK exports to Kuwait witnessed a 33 percent increase within the past 12 months compared to same period of last year. British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden visited Kuwait in January and accompanied HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah in inaugurating the anniversary event on the occasion of 125 years of diplomatic relations. —KUNA