Kuwaiti group pushes for greater U.S. trade

Armed with surveys showing Americans know little about Kuwait and often think it is a "terrorist state," a delegation of Kuwaitis toured the Chicago area Tuesday touting trade opportunities.

The country for which the U.S. came to its defense in the 1991 Gulf War now hosts American troops fighting the current Iraq War. It is working toward a free trade agreement with the U.S. and tax credits are available for U.S. firms.

The country also sits on about 10 percent of the world's oil reserves.

"There is a lot of oil money in the area and this money needs to find places," said Abdulmajeed Alshatti, managing director of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait. "We don't want the U.S. to miss this opportunity."

The group of six academicians, politicians and business people toured universities and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday. The "Eye on Kuwait" tour also is visiting Atlanta and Washington D.C.

The group also addressed a packed room of Kellogg School of Management students Tuesday afternoon addressing questions about misperceptions about Islam, last year's failed Dubai Ports deal and social and business law reforms in Kuwait.

Perhaps backing up their point about the need for more trade ties, Kuwait remains a small trading partner for Chicago.

Several Chicago-area businesses are active in Kuwait, including accounting services firm Grant Thornton International, electronics firm Motorola, insurance firm Aon and McDonald's.

However, the World Trade Center of Chicago cites figures showing just $75 million in import and export trade.

A country of 3 million people, Kuwait has a gross domestic product of about $60 billion, according to estimates.

By comparison, the Chicago's GDP tops $453 billion.

Nevertheless, the "Eye on Kuwait" tour stressed the country is stable and ripe for investment.

"You don't have to be physically present to invest," Alshatti said. "Everything is a click away."