CAIRO: Palestine's full membership in the UN is a matter of utmost importance for the future of Palestinians and their right for an independent state within the 1967 borders, Kuwait's Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya said on Wednesday. Delivering a speech to the 163rd meeting of the Arab League Foreign Ministers meeting in Cairo, Al-Yahya said that the future Palestinian state, with east Jerusalem as capital, is a non-negotiable issue and a major goal not only for Palestinians but the Arab world as a whole.

This year began with a "beam of hope" as the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip - negotiated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt - brought hopes for the end of the war.However, fate had it that the brutal Israeli occupation violated all agreements and international laws, continuing its psychopathic campaign against innocent Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, said the Kuwaiti minister. He commended the outcomes of the urgent Arab Summit held on March fourth in Cairo, which came out with a plan to reconstruct the war-torn Gaza Strip as soon as the brutal Israeli occupation campaign was brought to an end by sheer international effort for peace.

The Foreign Minister also expressed support to the Cairo international summit for early recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, showing at the same time, support to UNRWA and its efforts in both Gaza and the West Bank despite the Israeli occupation harassment and brutality.He welcomed the UNGA's resolution on referring the ban on UNRWA to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which would issue a verdict on the legality of halting the much-needed efforts of the UN entity. He reflected Kuwait's utter disdain to the Israeli occupation's attempts to taint the legal status and history of Jerusalem.

In regards to Syria, Al-Yahya affirmed that developments in the fellow Arab country was a turning point for the Syrian people, reflecting Kuwait's support and unwavering stance with Syrians especially in the past 14 years. Kuwait had organized and co-organized three humanitarian donor conferences for Syria, which displayed its and Arab countries' solidarity with the people of Syria who are the only ones capable of deciding their destiny. Minister Al-Yahya reiterated his country's welcoming of the national Syrian dialogue conference and the formation of the new transitional Syrian government, saying that such steps would hopefully help build a modern and prosperous Syrian state.

Minister Al-Yahya also expressed solidarity towards Lebanon and its people, affirming Kuwait's stance towards maintaining the unity and stability of the Arab country. He underlined the importance of implementing UNSC resolution 1701, fully implementing the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, and an immediate halt to the aggressive behavior and assault by the Israeli occupation military against Lebanon, its people, and UNIFIL.The Kuwaiti official also stressed that his country was follow up on the developments in Sudan, reiterating calls maintain the ceasefire, enabling humanitarian aid to reach those indeed and safeguarding civilians in accordance with international resolutions.

On Yemen, Minister Al-Yahya renewed Kuwait's keenness on the unity and stability of Yemen via reaching a comprehensive political solution based on the GCC initiative, outcomes of the national dialogue conference, and UNSC resolutions namely resolution 2216.Al-Yahya also touched on the situation in Libya, expressing similar sentiments of supporting unity and stability in the fellow Arab country.

On Somalia, Minister Al-Yahya welcomed the agreement between Somalia and Ethiopia in the Turkish capital Ankara, which would set the stage for technical negotiation on borders.He expressed utter condemnation to the assassination attempt against Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, affirming that Kuwait stood in solidarity with Somalia and support its efforts against terrorism.

Meanwhile, Minister Al-Yahya renewed calls for restraint in marine routes on the Red Sea, saying that it was important to respect international laws and 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In this regard, Al-Yahya commended Oman's efforts to release the crew of "Galaxy Leader" ship who were apprehended off the coast of Yemen since 2023.He also praised Oman for mediating the high-level talks between the US and Iran on the latter nuclear file, saying such steps would lead to a more stable and peaceful Middle East region. - KUNA