RIYADH: The GCC and Central Asia Investment Forum was hosted on Wednesday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with Kuwaiti Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment Dr Anwar Al-Mudhaf’s participation. Delivering an inaugural speech in the forum, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih stressed the necessity of exploiting natural resources and reserves in Central Asian countries to address challenges facing the world’s countries.

He touched upon historical and cultural relations between the GCC and Central Asian states to pave the way for investment strategic dialogue and find different channels to increase commerce in all domains. He elaborated that the Central Asian countries have fertile land that will enable them to exploit agricultural development and rivers to be invested in producing hydroelectric energy, in addition to vast areas for wind energy. Al-Falih noted that Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have large reserves of oil and gas, and Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan own reserves of gold and minerals. Kazakhstan also enjoys the largest reserves of uranium in the world, which is an important element in non-carbon energy.

Speaking to KUNA in a statement, Al-Mudhaf said the forum is an opportunity to enhance Gulf strategic partnerships with the world’s countries and open wider doors for investment through enhanced communication between the public and private sectors of the GCC and Central Asian states. He thanked Saudi Arabia for its hospitality and warm reception, lauding the development in the Kingdom over the last few years, under the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

Furthermore, Assistant Director General of Kuwait’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Imad Al-Zaid, said, in a similar statement to KUNA, that the chamber is participating in the forum to meet with representatives of the private and public sectors and discuss how to enhance bilateral cooperation and communication for broader opportunities and investment. The aim of participation is to find new horizons of cooperation, he said, considering the forum a chance to learn about available opportunities in the participating states.— KUNA