KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is scheduled to visit the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on a state visit Tuesday that will be marked with a scheduled summit meeting with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. His Highness the Amir’s visit is the latest step by the top leadership in bolstering further the close relations between the two brotherly Gulf countries, bonded by family affiliations, geographic proximity, joint history, and destiny.

The mission falls within the framework of regular coordination between the two neighboring countries’ leaderships regarding regional and international issues. Leaders of the two Gulf States regularly reciprocate visits. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal’s last visit to the Kingdom was on June 1, 2021, when he was Kuwait’s Crown Prince. He went there again on October 25, 2021, to partake in the first Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) Summit, followed by another one on December 14, heading a delegation at the 42nd session of the Supreme Council of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

On July 16, 2022, His Highness Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad visited Saudi Arabia to address a speech at the Jeddah Security and Development Summit, followed by another mission on December 8, participating in the 43rd session of the GCC Supreme Council, the GCC-China Summit, and the Arab-China Summit, hosted by Riyadh. On May 19, 2003, His Highness Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad went to the Kingdom to head the State of Kuwait’s delegation at the Arab Summit that convened in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

He went there again on July 19 to take part in the 18th consultative meeting of the top GCC leaders and the Gulf Summit with Central Asia States. On October 20, 2023, His Highness Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad was in the Kingdom, leading the State of Kuwait’s delegation at the Gulf-ASEAN summit in Riyadh, and he was there on November 11 to chair the Kuwaiti delegation at the Arab-Islamic Summit, organized in Riyadh. The late Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah visited Saudi Arabia in January 2021, heading a delegation at a GCC meeting, against the backdrop of a visit to Kuwait by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, in December 2016.

Kuwaiti and Saudi officials have regularly reciprocated visits for coordination on various issues of common concern. In June 2022, the then foreign minister, Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, visited Riyadh. Later, in February 2023, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud came to Kuwait, and the country’s deputy prime minister and minister of defense, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmad, traveled to the Kingdom last October. Moreover, the former prime minister, His Highness Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, visited the Kingdom in September 2022 on the first such mission abroad since taking office, signaling Kuwait’s acknowledgement of Saudi Arabia’s heavyweight.

The historic and brotherly relations between Kuwait and Riyadh stood out starkly when the Kingdom supported Kuwait in defending its legitimacy and independence during the blatant Iraqi aggression that began on August 2, 1990. The Kingdom hosted the Kuwaiti leaders, officials, and ordinary citizens, providing them with all forms of backing in addition to its effective participation in the international coalition that liberated the country in 1991.

On the basis that the security of the two countries is inseparable, brotherly relations have deepened with a host of cooperation agreements at the media, cultural, economic, aviation, commercial, and energy levels. The two countries, key oil producers, maintain close coordination regarding the policy of maintaining international oil markets. Moreover, the signed accords have ensured a steady two-way flow of commodities across the borders between the two neighboring Gulf countries.

On December 11, 2022, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop the offshore Al-Durra gas field with a projected daily output of one billion cubic feet of gas and 84,000 barrels of liquid gas a day. On September 26, 2023, the Saudi Cabinet approved the Kuwait-Saudi accord for establishing joint railways. In aerial transport, on May 14, 2023, Kuwait Airways signed a code-sharing deal with Saudia (formally known as Saudi Arabian Airlines).

At the parliamentary level, cooperation between Kuwait’s National Assembly and the Saudi Shura Council has been growing through the joint friendship committee, reciprocal visits, and coordination with international and external quarters. In May 2023, a Saudi delegation visited Kuwait for coordination against cross-border trafficking. And in tourism, a Saudi delegation came to Kuwait in September 2022 to promote tourist attractions in the Kingdom. During the 2023 hajj season, Kuwait staged 75 flights to transport the devotees to sacred sites in the Kingdom. — KUNA