INTERVIEW WITH ADIL HAMAD M. AL AYYAR AMBASSADOR OF KUWAIT TO SPAIN FOR WINNE / US NEWS.

Kuwait is a small, relatively open economy with proven crude oil reserves of about 96 billion barrels, which is around 10% of World reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of the GDP of export revenues and 75% of government income.

Can you give us an overview of what the present economic situation is like in Kuwait?

Even though at first it may appear like a good situation, oil prices are high in general, I can honestly say that the government does not like the prices to be exceedingly, even though it would mean higher revenue. The State would like to stabilize our economy and we are willing to always give the right price, even if I personally would not be able to tell you precisely what that exact price should be. We depend on oil but now the situation is not too stable, so Kuwait needs to undergo a process of reform. We are working to turn Kuwait into the centre of business in that region, so we have good relations with our neighbors and I can honestly say that we are trying our best. Our private sector is very strong; our stock market is one of the strongest in the region. I believe a recent study has shown that we are a very developed country with great potential for business. The future of Kuwait, with our new administration, paints a very positive picture. I am very optimistic about the future of the country.

You have mentioned that Kuwait is having a stronger presence in the region, but you have several strong competitors when it come to attracting direct investment, like Qatar, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. What do you think should be done to attract that foreign investment and bring it to Kuwait in stead to these other countries in the region?

All brothers compete, but ours is a healthy competition and what it does is to make us strive harder and it certainly betters us to be able to have better business and trade. We have a good strong market and a unique location in the region. Of course we also need cooperation, since what we really should do and it is the case is complement each other, complete each other as brother in the same region, more than compete against each other. In this way we can really help one another to promote whatever each country has to offer. This will only make the region more interesting; we are talking with the EU as a uniform GCC group, and we are also trying to establish talks with the US again from a the solid group that forms the GCC, which in the end makes us stronger and that will benefit everyone involved, all the countries in the region and the ones we have bilateral relations with. In fact we have already signed as the GCC an understanding with countries like India, Pakistan and China that will allow us to explore new arenas for investment, so we are looking at a very bright future ahead of us.

Going back to the economic situation, High oils prices in recent years have helped Kuwait's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. As a result of this positive fiscal situation, the need for economic reforms may have seemed less urgent. In which ways do you think the economy could develop to come to depend less exclusively on oil?

What we need is to bring back Kuwait as the main business centre of the region, as the hub for trade and investment. We have a good stable market and solid investments all over the world with strong partners, like the US, EU Countries and Japan. We could be like Hong Kong or Dubai, but for that what is really need is stabilization in the region. We have centuries of experience when it comes to trade and investment, we have the knowledge and the know-how to become a country like Hong Kong or Dubai, but until we truly solve such a great problem as is stabilization we cannot truly reach all our potential.

You mentioned Dubai, which is a tourism nation, how do you think that Kuwait could position itself to be one of the main tourist attractions of the region?

I have worked abroad for over 20 years and whenever I ask anyone why they are hesitant to go to Kuwait they mention the proximity to countries with big internal problems, with great instability, like Iraq. I believe that once we have manage to have peace in the area Kuwait will boom again, I am optimistic this will eventually happen and should not take too long. This will not only be good for Kuwait, but also for USA, EU and the entire world. We have to make people aware of the stability that my country enjoys, that great business offers and the potential that it has not only for business but for pleasure as well. Undoubtedly it has many beautiful things to offer but we need to show the rest of the world that this is so in order to attract more international business and travelers.

How could Kuwait become a main player and provide assistance to support the efforts to bring peace to the region?

We have very good allies, like the US and we appreciate all the help we got to be able to free ourselves from the invasion of Saddam. I think one of the main problems is the Palestine issue and until that is solved all Arabs will feel affected by this, it is something that we all have in common, from Morocco to Kuwait. I believe we have already initiated the way towards peace, to normalize the region, and I think the US has done a good job looking for peace. The ball is now on their court, so to speak, and they know that we are all looking for peace, it's a matter of going beyond politics and solving this once and for all. Kuwait has just been proclaimed a "Major Ally" out of NATO, because we have helped the US to liberate Iraq and we are certainly trying to make it again a stable country. I think the USA and Kuwait understand each other very well and we can now openly discuss with them any subject, which is key to any treaty, negotiation and relation in general.

In your experience, what can Kuwait offer Europe in general and Spain in particular and what can we offer your country?

I think that the most important thing at the moment is to encourage and protect the investment that is coming to Europe and Spain from Kuwait and vice versa, to also encourage all the foreign investment that comes from here to my country. We are all doing our best and working closely together to accomplish this and create stronger and tighter bilateral relations with Europe and Spain.

I have to say that King Juan Carlos is very loved in Kuwait, the people are waiting to see him visit our country, His Majesty is a very popular figure, very well respected and so we look forward to having strong ties with your country..

Do you have a final message to our readers, how would you increase international awareness of Kuwait?

I can only say that we are a stable country, that we are looking to create closer international relations, we search for joint ventures that will help promote the country and the foreign investment. If they have any doubts, just let them visit the country and anyone will clearly see what a strong and stable market we have and what a good partner we can become .