Saudi Arabia gives the go-ahead to rail link with Kuwait
The project aimed at boosting transport, links between both countries
Cairo: The Saudi government has approved the launch of a rail connection between the kingdom and neighbouring Kuwait.
The kingdom’s Council of Ministers approved a related pact earlier reached with Kuwait at a Cabinet meeting that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman headed Tuesday.
In June, Kuwait approved the pact, saying that the project will provide a safe and effective rail transport between the two countries.
The pact, reached earlier in June, aims at a partnership between both sides to conduct a financial, economic and technical feasibility study on the joint rail link.
High-speed bullet train
Kuwait noted that the project will have no impact on another rail project underway to connect the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that comprises Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The project will link Saudi Arabia and Kuwait via a high-speed bullet train service shuttling between Riyadh and Kuwait City.
Consultancy studies on the project will take six months in the run-up to its implementation, it was reported in July.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait maintain close ties. In 2018, the two countries set up a coordination council aimed at boosting cooperation between them.
Senior officials of both countries have exchanged visits to boost their relations.
In June 2021, Kuwaiti Crown Prince Meshal Al Ahmad Al Sabah visited Saudi Arabia, marking his first foreign trip since he took office months earlier. During the visit, the Kuwaiti leader met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In December 2021, Prince Mohammad visited Kuwait as part of a Gulf tour that also took him to Oman, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain ahead of a GCC summit that Saudi Arabia later hosted.