Bush meets with Kuwait emir

Sep 5, 2006, 20:00 GMT

Washington - US President George W Bush met with the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the instability in the Middle East.

Kuwait is a strong ally of the United States and allowed US troops to invade Iraq in March 2003 from its territory. Bush, however, has continued to urge friendly Arab governments enact democratic change and congratulated the emir for 'steady reforms.'

'His Highness has got a clear vision about how we can work together, strategically, as well as commercially,' Bush said.

The two leaders met amid international efforts to rebuild Lebanon following a month of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel that began on July 12 and left many parts of Lebanon devastated.

'We have conducted a very fruitful talk. We have covered several issues, bilateral issues, economic issues related to strengthening the bilateral relation between our two countries,' al-Sabah said.

Ahead of the Kuwaiti leader's visit, the United States and Kuwait agreed last week to promote commercial flights between the two countries and cut regulation of airline traffic.

The so-called open skies agreement provides for open routes and a number of other freedoms, as well as cooperative marketing arrangements such as code-sharing between Kuwaiti and US airlines.

US Ambassador Richard LeBaron and Kuwait's director of civil aviation, Yacoob al-Saqer, signed the agreement in Kuwait, the US State Department said.