(photo: newsgd.com)
"I want to be a member of 'building a Happy Guangdong' and I will bring this notion back to my country for building a 'Happy Kuwait'." said Mr. Abdul Wahab A A Alsager in an exclusive interview with Newsgd.com.
Mr. Abdul Wahab A A Alsager became the second Kuwaiti Consul General in Guangzhou last October. With the past three months' research, he has already mapped a Guangdong-Kuwait economic and trade cooperation expansion plan.
Q: According to the provincial government report in 2011, the Sino-Kuwait Oil Refining Project will start this year, what's your plan of pushing forward this project?
A: I've contacted both the Kuwaiti oil companies in Beijing and the Zhanjiang leaders. I really appreciate Guangdong government included this project in the government report. But the project hasn't been officially started because there are still some procedures to go through in Beijing. We believe the construction will begin this year.
Q: Apart from this project, is there any other investment in Guangdong?
A: When this project officially kicks off, the minister of Kuwaiti Oil Department will visit Beijing and Zhanjiang with new cooperation project plans, probably in the area of energy. At present, Kuwait is considering building Q8 Petroleum Station chain stores in Guangdong, which is very popular in European countries.
Q: How about the present Kuwaiti investment projects in Guangdong?
A: There are many investment projects in oil and oil-related projects in China, but not many in Guangdong. The purpose of setting the Consulate General in Guangzhou is to expand our economic and trade cooperation with Guangdong. In 2010, the total trade volume between Kuwait and Guangdong is 45 million USD.
On April 12, the Consulate General in Guangzhou will hold a press conference to introduce Kuwait's economy and investment. We are also considering a Kuwait-Guangdong Cooperation Forum, on which entrepreneurs and officials of both sides could talk about cooperation.
Q: Besides economic cooperation, is there any activities for Guangdong people to know more about Kuwaiti culture?
A: In this April or May, a "Kuwaiti Cultural Week" will be held in China to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relation between Kuwait and Guangdong. The Kuwaiti Embassy in China will also invite Kuwaiti folk dance group to perform in Beijing and Guangdong. Besides, Kuwaiti University and Sun Yat-sen University have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on teachers training and exchange students.
About Guangzhou
Q: Do you know the city of Guangzhou before you work here?
A: I worked in Beijing from 1991 to 1995, when I got the concept of Guangdong from the famous Canton Fair. It is last October when I really knew Guangzhou after I started work here. I attended the opening ceremony of Asian Games, the firework on Guangzhou tower is the most beautiful I have ever seen.
Q: What impressed you most in Guangdong?
A: I am very fascinating the legend of "The Five Rams". The Five Rams brought the rice, hope and happiness to Guangdong.
Q: Besides Guangzhou, how many other cities in Guangdong have you visited?
A: I have visited Shenzhen, where I found people happy sun bathing on the beaches. That is when I knew what "Happy Guangdong" was and decided to bring the concept back to Kuwait.
(By Miranda)
