Enhancing economic ties was a cornerstone of the recent visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Kuwait. He and the Emir of Kuwait, Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new, long-awaited Terminal 2 at Kuwait International Airport.

The first phase involves accommodating 13 million passengers annually.

This marks a milestone for Kuwait as the country seeks to strengthen its position in the ever competitive aviation industry within the Gulf. Once complete, the terminal should have positive spillover effects on numerous sectors, including transport, tourism, and hospitality.

Currently, Kuwait’s aviation industry is not regarded as a major competitor to the UAE and Qatar. Both Dubai and Doha have world renowned airports. And flydubai operates daily flights to Dubai from its regional hub, Shaikh Saad Al Abdallah terminal, in Kuwait.

Cost of the terminal project — won by Turkish Construction Company Limak Insaat — is put at $4.4 billion, and regarded as the single largest package won abroad by any Turkish firm. This take the value of construction business awarded to Turkish firms in Kuwait to a record $6.5 billion. Clearly, this fact partly underscores the presence of the Turkish President during the ceremony.

Much to its credit, Limak has a track record in constructing airports, including building and operating a new terminal at Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul. Most passengers go through Ataturk, the main airport, but Sabiha is popular with travellers using low-cost airlines like Pegasus.

Turkey is tirelessly seeking ways to boost business ties with GCC countries while seeking to address challenges facing its tourism industry. The country has reportedly lost some tourism business over the past two years due to tensions with numerous European countries.

Some 180,000 Kuwaiti nationals visited Turkey in 2016. Kuwaiti tourists have a track record of spending handsomely while on holiday, thanks partially to the high value of their currency. This is something desirable to hotels in Istanbul, the main commercial city in Turkey.

Turkish authorities are doing the right thing by showing a willingness to facilitate possible investments by Kuwaiti investors. Kuwaiti investors stand out for having an international outlook to their investment choices.

Kuwait was the first GCC country to set up a sovereign wealth fund, partially to explore investment opportunities around the world. Kuwaiti investors followed the public sector in pursuing investment potentials.

Sadly, Kuwait lags behind most GCC in key economic indexes like doing ease of business and tourism. Kuwait ranks 102 among 190 economies ranked in the “Doing Business 2017” rankings by the World Bank. This is the worst performance for any GCC state. The report assigns the UAE the 26th ranking, ahead of all other Arab countries as well as the Netherlands, France and Spain.

Also, Kuwait does not enjoy a good standing in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index. It grants the 29th and 100th global rankings to the UAE and Kuwait, respectively, thereby the best and worst results within the GCC. The survey considers variables like aviation infrastructure and air travel competitiveness as well as international openness.

The airport contract could thus signal a new beginning for Kuwait.

The writer is a Member of Parliament in Bahrain.