Kuwait and Iraq plan to launch a jointly operated airlines using a part of the compensations paid to the Kuwait Airways for destroying its fleet during the 1990/91 invasion. Sources indicated that the contract to establish the company 'is almost ready' and is to be signed sometime before the end of the year "during a planned visit by HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to Baghdad."
The Kuwaiti and Iraqi government reached a settlement recently concerning $500 million compensation owed by the Iraqi Airways. The agreement calls for $300 million to be paid in cash, and $200 million to be invested in a joint project. "A Kuwaiti-Iraqi technical team is currently working on preparing the formula, work mechanism and structure of the new company to be brought to life in the near future," sources added.