The Saudi consumer market gains increasing importance to Kuwaiti exporters, said Chairman of Kuwait Industries Union Hussein Ali Al-Kharafi, in remarks he made Wednesday to KUNA, on the sideline of his visit here at the head of a Kuwaiti industrial delegation to Dammam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Made up mainly of representatives from 12 Kuwaiti industrial firms from the foodstuff and construction sectors, the delegation's objective is to boost Kuwaiti exports abroad, including the all-important Saudi market which is the largest closest market to Kuwait amenable to Kuwaiti products, indicated Al-Kharafi. Noting that this was the delegation's inaugural trip abroad for the purpose of promoting Kuwaiti consumer products (visits to other countries will follow), he made sure to point out that the current level of bilateral trade between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait left much to be desired and was not up to par with expectations on both sides. Al-Kharafi said he apprised the officials of the Dammam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Saudi businesspeople of the various Kuwaiti industries and the potential for exchanging expertise among the business community of both countries. He heaped praise on the continuing contact and partnership between the private sectors in both countries and cited the fact that the Saudi market has enormous resources which Kuwaiti manufacturers could tap. He sounded sanguine about the Saudi promises to eradicate impediments that might stand in the way of the smooth flow of bilateral trade. The delegation's visit to Dammam had been a joint effort by organizers: The Kuwait Public Authority for Industry, the Kuwaiti Industries Union, the Kuwaiti Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Gulf Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The head of the exports department at Kuwait's Public Authority for Industry Hammad Al-Zoabi, in similar remarks to KUNA, emphasized that the delegation sought to find opportunities for Kuwaiti products in Eastern Saudi Arabia and to also get a firsthand look at the progress of some industries in that vital Saudi region.
