The Félix María Pareja Islamic Library of the Spanish International Development Cooperation Agency (AECID) has launched issue number 188 of its Cuadernos with the title “Ink Marks in the Desert: A bibliographic guide to Kuwait in the Libraries of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MAEC),” which was written by diplomat Gabriel Alou Forner and published by the library’s staff, as the result of close cooperation with the Embassy of Spain in Kuwait.

Gabriel Alou Forner held the position of Deputy Head of Mission in Kuwait from August 2010 to July 2013, and thanks to his management and that of his predecessor, interesting and original bibliographic collections were sent to the AECID Library, some in the form of an exchange and others donated, about this country in the Persian Gulf. These volumes were accompanied by others existing at different libraries belonging to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (the General Library and the Diplomatic School Library).

This is a proper contribution to the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Spain and Kuwait (1964-2014), and at the same time it constitutes an attempt to highlight the important bibliographic collections on a country which is, in general, not well known, but has been undergoing profound and interesting transformation in recent years. This is why it includes the special logo designed by the AECID to mark this 50th anniversary, which shows the profile of one of the Kuwait Towers alongside the monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus. The towers are a feat of engineering turned into the icon of Kuwait’s modernization and were built in the 1970’s.

The dossier consists of a first part which explains and deals with general aspects regarding the bibliographic collections at the three libraries and the origins of the relations between Spain and the countries in the Gulf region, then discussing topics such as Kuwait’s image shown through the books, placing an emphasis on the cultural exchanges between the two countries and works written in Spanish on this country. Included in the second dossier is a large, commented bibliographic list of one hundred works, organized in accordance with subject matter so as to facilitate the approach to different facets of Kuwait’s reality. The work ends with a timeline that highlights the political and cultural aspects of their relations, an appendix with the testimony of journalist and photographer Gustavo Ferrari, author of one of the books commented on, and a set of indices. The text is illustrated with images from the covers of some of the books and photographs by Gustavo Ferrari and by the author himself.

In addition to this bibliographic guide, Gabriel Alou (holder of a degree in Geography and History and in Law) has prepared another work which focuses on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Spain and Kuwait in 1964. The author also held the position of Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Spain in Muscat.