KUWAIT: The British and Palestinian embassies to Kuwait jointly hosted a delegation from the British Consulate in Jerusalem and the UK-funded “Tasdeer” team. The purpose of this highly successful visit was to explore how to export more high-quality Palestinian goods and services to Kuwait. The delegation had a busy schedule in Kuwait. Calls included: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA); the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and a range of private companies focused on logistics, food and drink, stone and marble, and telecommunications.

Each meeting included a warm welcome to the visiting delegation and messages of support for the proposed export campaign. The British Ambassador to Kuwait, Belinda Lewis, said: “This was an extremely valuable visit from colleagues in Jerusalem, who received a characteristically warm welcome.

There is a big appetite in Kuwait for high quality Palestinian products - particularly food, textiles and stone and marble – so the UK-funded Tasdeer team is now working hard on logistics, customs requirements and other practical matters to increase exports as efficiently as possible.

This joint project between the British and Palestinian embassies to support the Palestinian economy is a top priority for my team and we are hopeful that a number of commercial contracts will be signed with Kuwaiti companies in the very near future.” “Tasdeer” is a UK government-funded program that works with a range of Palestinian stakeholders across Gaza and the West Bank, including the Ministry of National Economy, the Ministry of Finance, Customs, and a number of private Palestinian businesses, to help facilitate the export of evermore high-quality Palestinian-made goods and services to foreign markets.