Kuwait: The private sector is an important partner in developing the healthcare system in Kuwait, said Minister of Health Dr. Khaled Al-Saeed Wednesday.

Speaking to the press after visiting the National Bank of Kuwait Hospital for Children, the minister commended the private sector role in providing healthcare and treatment.

The NBK and the ministry are working together to open a new hospital, revealed Minister Al-Saeed, saying that such cooperation reflected the strong relations between the state of the private sector.

On his part, Isam Jasem A. Al-Sager -- Vice Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of the National Bank of Kuwait -- revealed that the NBK was cooperating with the ministry to open a third children hospital, indicating that cooperation between the two sides began in the 1980s.

The new hospital would be built on an area of 8,000 square meters at a cost of KD 13 million (around USD 42.9 million), said Al-Saqer, adding that the construction would be concluded in three-years' time. The facility would be dedicated to treating children with incurable diseases.

Also speaking on the occasion, the Director of the National Bank of Kuwait Hospital and the pediatric Hematology and Cancer Consultant, Dr. Ali Mulla Ali said that the hospital had been receiving patients for two decades, while the building B of the hospital began receiving cancer patients for 16 years.

The NBK hospital is the only facility of its kind in Kuwait that received children with cancer, treating around 100 to 120 cases annually.