KUWAIT: Interior Ministry Undersecretary Lt Gen Sheikh Salem Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah held talks on Monday in his office with a security delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) concerning cooperation in the security field between the two countries. Sheikh Salem Al-Nawaf also discussed enhancing joint partnerships in other fields to boost cooperation between the two countries, the Interior Ministry’s statement added.

Sheikh Al-Nawaf adorned the joint security cooperation between the two countries’ interior ministries and the ongoing joint meetings on security and traffic cooperation. The UAE delegation expressed their appreciation for the hospitality of the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry and their efforts in boosting ties, wishing Kuwait more progress under the country’s leadership.

In another development, Kuwait Deputy Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and Acting Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah and US Secretary of Defense Lioyd Austin discussed topics of common interest. This came during a phone call on Monday, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The statement also noted that Sheikh Fahad stressed Kuwait’s position, calling for the importance of the Security Council assuming its responsibilities towards maintaining international peace and security by ensuring the commitment of the entire international community to what is stipulated in international laws and conventions.

Egypt warns of the risk

Meanwhile, Egypt has raised alarm about the risk of expanding military confrontations in the Middle East and called on Iran and Zionists to maintain maximum restraint and avoid a brinkmanship policy that could further escalate regional tension and instability. Egypt’s warning was conveyed by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in three separate phone calls with his US, Iranian, and Zionist counterparts.

In a press statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that Shoukry discussed with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken the developments in the region, the escalating tensions in recent weeks amid the Gaza crisis, and its regional implications, which now present a significant threat to the region’s security and stability. The ministers exchanged views and assessments regarding strategies to de-escalate tensions and spare the region the risks of expanding the conflict.

Minister Shoukry emphasized Egypt’s keenness on close coordination with the US to contain the current crisis between Iran and the Zionist entity, stressing Egypt’s unwavering commitment to exerting all efforts to halt the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid to alleviate the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe faced by Palestinians in the strip. He underscored that the widening scope of the conflict, as witnessed, will serve no party’s interests and will only bring further tension and instability to the region’s people.

The two ministers agreed to continue consultations and coordination between their respective countries to contain the ongoing tensions, promote de-escalation efforts, and defuse crises in the Middle East. Earlier, Minister Shoukry called the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and the Zionist Minister of Foreign Affairs, I Katz. He expressed Egypt’s deep concern due to the ongoing unprecedented military escalation between Iran and Zionists, which threatens to spiral the situation out of control, jeopardize regional stability, and endanger the interests of its people.

During the separate calls, Minister Shoukry urged his Iranian and Zionist counterparts to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from policies of brinkmanship and mutual provocations that could further escalate tensions and instability in the Middle East. He conveyed to his Iranian and Zionist counterparts Egypt’s readiness to intensify its efforts in collaboration with its partners to defuse the current crisis, which is taking on a dangerous escalatory trend, especially given the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip and the daily suffering of the Palestinian people, as well as the escalating tensions in multiple hotspots in the region. — KUNA