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Languages Unite: Building Bridges Between Europe and Kuwait

29.09.2026 Press and information team of the Delegation to the State of Kuwait

Ambassador Anne Koistinen delivered a speech at the event marking the European Day of Languages , which was held at the American University of Kuwait. She said that as Europe and Kuwait celebrate this year 40 years of partnership, it is important to mention that learning a language can be a first step toward building bridges and shaping a shared future.

Speech of EU Ambassador to Kuwait Anne Koistinen
© European Union, 2026

Your excellencies, students, and guests, 

Good evening,

It is my pleasure to be back here in the American University of Kuwait for the second consecutive year with another celebration of the European Day of Languages, organized by the French Institute in close cooperation with our EU Member States' embassies here in Kuwait.

Every year on the 26th of September, Europe marks the European Day of Languages to celebrate something we consider a source of real strength and that is being united in diversity including our remarkable linguistic diversity. The European Union is a union of 27 countries and 24 official languages. We are not united despite this diversity. We are united because of it. That is what our motto ‘United in Diversity’ is really about. And this year’s theme, ‘Languages Unite!’, reminds us of one of the most powerful ways in which that unity comes to life: through the languages we speak, learn and share.

We celebrate the European Day of Languages as the EU Delegation in Kuwait marks this year the 40th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the European Union and the State of Kuwait. Forty years ago, our partnership began. Today, it has matured into one of trust, resilience, and shared ambition, and we are working to take it even further, as we are hoping to start negotiations on a bilateral Strategic Partnership Agreement with Kuwait this year. An agreement that will deepen our cooperation from clean energy to security, from trade to exactly the kind of people-to-people ties we are celebrating today.

Because that is really what today is about. Agreements are negotiated in meeting rooms, but partnerships are built by people, by a student choosing to learn a new language, by a shared meal, by a curious question like the ones you'll find around you today. Forty years of diplomacy rest on exactly this kind of exchange.

I am delighted that this year we welcome such a rich representation of European countries and languages, who each will offer a window into a different corner of Europe, a different sound, a different history, and, I am told, more than a few different desserts. I encourage you to visit every single table. You will find that a language is never just that, it is a way of seeing the world, and every new word you learn today is a small act of curiosity about a culture other than your own.

To the students here: I want to leave you with this. Learning a European language is a door. It is a door to studying at one of Europe's universities, to research and innovation, to opportunities that are increasingly open to youth in Kuwait as our partnership deepens. I encourage you to walk through that door. Ask today about scholarships, exchange programmes, and what studying in their countries looks like. Many of the people in this room started exactly where you are now, curious, and willing to try a few new words.

Thank you!