Minister Phuc visited Kuwait and Qatar at the invitation of the Kuwaiti Finance Minister and the Qatari Minister of Economy and Finance and was charged with carrying out agreements signed by the Vietnamese Prime Minister and the Kuwaiti Prime Minister and the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister during their recent Viet Nam visits.

In Kuwait , the Vietnamese delegation paid a courtesy visit to the King and the Prime Minister, worked with the Finance Minister, the General Director of the Kuwait Fund, the General Director of the Kuwaiti investment corporation, the President of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry and leaders of a number of major Kuwaiti groups.

At the working sessions, Kuwait's Prime Minister stated that his administration is determined to promote cooperation with Viet Nam and instructed government agencies to carry out the earlier commitments made during the PM's recent visit to Viet Nam as promptly as possible. Kuwait will also set up a Kuwaiti embassy in Ha Noi and a Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City by September.

The Kuwaiti government said that the utilization of Kuwaiti aid to Viet Nam had gone smoothly and the country would provide an additional 20 million USD for a transport development project in Viet Nam 's northern mountainous Bac Can province. It also pledged to double its development assistance for Viet Nam for the 2007 year.

Of chief interest for the tiny Kingdom was the dispatching of a delegation from its Kuwait Investment Authority for negotiations with Vietnamese partners on the possibility of purchasing shares of State-own companies that are to be equitised. More delegations from the authority will arrive in Viet Nam to investigate the country's real estate development, tourism projects, major infrastructure projects and the possibility of becoming strategic shareholders in Viet Nam 's joint stock companies.

Major construction projects such as an oil refinery in Nghi Son, Thanh Hoa province and a 15 million USD initiative to produce 50,000 tonnes of steel building components a year were also mentioned as possible investment opportunities.

During their stay in Qatar , the Vietnamese delegation met with the Minister of Economy and Economy and the General Director of the Qatar Investment Agency.

Qatar was also keen on the idea of purchasing stocks in Vietnamese State-owned companies nearing equitisation as well as the Vietnamese real estate market and tourism sector, said the Qatari Prime Minister.

The Qatari Investment Agency will also send a delegation to Viet Nam early next month to inquire into projects on urban development and the development of tourist sites and luxury resorts.(VNA)