KUWAIT: HH theAmir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah delivered yesterday hisspeech to the first Arab-European Union summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.Speaking to the participants, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisiand President of the European Council Donald Tusk, HH the Amir said: "I ampleased at the outset to express my great happiness for this first historicmeeting between Arab and European states in this beautiful city. I would alsolike to express my thanks and appreciation to the brothers and friends, leadersof the Arab and European countries, for responding to the invitation of thismeeting by participating in it, which reflects their keenness to develop Arab-Europeanrelations."
HH the Amirexpressed gratitude towards Egypt for hosting the event, saying: "I mustalso thank my brother His Excellency President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Presidentof the Arab Republic of Egypt, for inviting us and for the warm welcome andgenerous hospitality extended to us. Our region has gone through varioushistorical phases, in which the interaction of civilization and others wasclear, as the effects of the Arab region are visible on the structures ofEuropean civilization. Similarly, we see clearly the effects of Europeanadvancement and European civilization on Arab intellectual, educational andpolitical institutions. We also have a shared space, a common sea andgeographic interaction on the ground, all of which enhance our engagement andstrengthen our cooperation."
The Amir affirmedthat such facts "enable us to create mechanisms of coordination andpartnerships through which we can support and develop our relations and expandtheir horizons to achieve the common interests of our countries in theeconomic, education, energy and investment levels". "We trust thatthe future of our cooperation is promising. The volume of trade exchangebetween our countries has exceeded $326.5 billion. Today, we are witnessingprogress and development in our cooperation towards higher levels. We are alsoconfident that we are able to catch up with what has passed us in recent yearswith regards to achievements in terms of mutual cooperation and in allfields," he said.
"We are all awareof the magnitude of the threats and the challenges we face due to the difficultsecurity, political and economic conditions, which requires of us to call uponyou to work with us in order to confront them. We believe in the prominent andvital role played by the European Union on the international stage in dealingwith many issues and challenges that are common to all of us. The mostprominent of these issues are those pertaining to security and stability in theMiddle East," the Amir said.
HH Sheikh Sabahcommended "the outstanding role played by the European Union in facingmany of the issues on the international scene", adding that "theEuropean role in confronting the terrorism phenomenon is an exceptional one. Wehad the privilege of cooperating and engaging on this issue, as it is a commonchallenge and represents a direct threat to our joint security andstability". "In addition, the role played by the European Union atthe humanitarian level is an advanced and pioneering role, whereby the generosityof European countries has always been outstanding in meeting the humanitarianneeds of societies," he said.
"We haveseen this in the rapid response to meet the appeals of the United Nations andits specialized agencies in the humanitarian field. We also had the honor tocooperate and participate with the European group in providing support toseveral countries in our region and others around the world facing humanitariancrisis and disasters. In this context, we must note that despite the progressiverole of the European Community with regards to the Palestinian cause, we lookforward to seeing greater engagement and initiatives with this central issueand to make it a top priority for the international community. What we seetoday as hotbeds of tension in our region is due to this issue being overlookedand not achieving a just and comprehensive solution that the brotherlyPalestinian people and the entire Arab people look forward to," SheikhSabah said.
At the conclusionof his speech, the Amir extended his gratitude to the Secretary-General of theLeague of Arab Ahmad Abul-Gheit and the High Representative of the Union forForeign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the EuropeanCommission Federica Mogherini and their bureaus for their valuable efforts inpreparing for this important meeting. He renewed his wishes of success to thefirst summit of Arab and European leaders.
Europeans viewthe summit, EU sources told AFP, as a way to protect their traditionaldiplomatic, economic and security interests while China and Russia move to filla vacuum left by the United States. The summit in the southern Sinai desert isheavily guarded by Egyptian security forces who are fighting a bloodyinsurgency a short distance to the north. Climate change, migration, trade andinvestment were on yesterday's agenda, EU sources said. Conflicts in Syria,Yemen and Libya are to be discussed today. Arab League hosts said theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict will also be raised.
European leadersfirst mentioned the summit in Austria in September amid efforts to agree waysto curb the illegal migration that has sharply divided the 28-nation bloc. Butchecking migration is just part of Europe's broader strategy to forge a newalliance with its southern neighbors. Mogherini insists that the gathering inEgypt of around 40 heads of state and government is about much more thanmigration.
Tusk, metyesterday with Sisi to help set the agenda, EU sources said. A UN officialwarned that Europe's failure to bridge divisions on migration "risksblocking all the other discussions" at the summit. The EU has struckaid-for-cooperation agreements with Turkey and Libya's UN-backed government inTripoli, which has sharply cut the flow of migrants since a 2015 peak. But theofficial said broader cooperation with the Arab League, which includes Libya,is limited without the EU being able to speak in one voice.
Marc Pierini, aformer EU ambassador to Tunisia and Libya, said the Arabs are also grapplingwith divisions since the Arab Spring revolutions in the last decade. An EUsource said there will "be no deal in the desert" when asked if EUleaders would huddle together to explore ways to break the logjam overBritain's looming exit from the bloc on March 29. Brussels has stood unitedagainst May's requests to reopen the November divorce agreement in order tohelp it pass the British parliament. - Agencies