Kuwait is one of the most economically powerful countries in the Middle East, providing a beacon to the Arab world. Its influence around the globe has grown considerably in recent decades, and one of the main reasons is the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, commonly known as the Kuwait Fund.
Asia has been a major beneficiary of the Kuwait Fund, which has distributed its largesse among many projects in countries as far apart as Afghanistan and Vietnam, and the Philippines and Bangladesh. The Kuwait Fund has also operated with particular success in China.
Relations between the mainland and Kuwait go back many years, starting in 1964 when the late emir, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, then Kuwait's minister of finance, made an official visit to the mainland.
Ties were strengthened in 1982 with the Kuwait Fund's first foray into the mainland when it made a US$46 million loan to assist in financing the Ningguo Cement Factory.
For nearly 30 years, the Kuwait Fund has continued to operate in China, financing more than 30 major projects, with concessionary loans valued at about US$826 million. Recipients have included the transport, energy, agriculture and industry sectors.
In addition to the Kuwait Fund, amicable ties between the mainland and Kuwait have developed in other spheres, such as increased trade and economic relations, and many Chinese companies have taken on projects in Kuwait itself.
Kuwait's Consul General in Hong Kong, Bader Saleh al-Tunaib, says: 'The Kuwait Fund is a force for good in the developing world and has already helped thousands of people in many different countries.
