ShareKUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Army said on Saturday it is carrying on strengthening its combat and field preparedness to protect the environment, based on an organized work mechanism and precise measures backed by sophisticated equipment. The Army General Staff said its Command of Defense against Weapons of Mass Destruction is doing its duties with high efficiency within a broad framework of monitoring, disinfection and sterilization, dealing with threats through state-of-the-art devices and sophisticated vehicles used for reconnaissance and detection of chemical, biological and radioactive pollutants.
It added that the command is also making a rapid and effective response in dealing with emergency accidents, promoting coordination between technical teams and raising the level of operational efficiency of equipment and personnel. On Thursday, Vice Chief of Staff of the Kuwaiti Army Air Vice Marshal Sabah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah stressed the significance of teamwork and vigilance amid rapid developments. He made the remark while touring several sites of the Kuwaiti Air force and air defense to check on the level of combat, technical and defensive preparedness.
The Kuwaiti army general stressed that the air force and air defense represent the country’s first line of defense. He underlined that it is essential to boost the level of efficiency and alertness around the clock, while commending the personnel’s high morale and discipline. The vice chief of staff’s visit is part of his field tours of army services in order to make sure that the army with all its formations is on high alert amid surrounding challenges and circumstances to ensure national security and stability.
Meanwhile, the ministry of foreign affairs announced the arrival of the first batch of Kuwaitis who were evacuated from Iran through Turkmenistan early Saturday.
The ministry said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah received the returning citizens upon arrival, adding that the evacuation is part of the country’s efforts to protect the safety of Kuwaitis.
The evacuation process was executed in cooperation with Kuwaiti embassies and the two countries’ governments, the ministry said, thanking both countries for facilitating the return of the Kuwaiti citizens. Under the instructions of the political leadership, the ministry of foreign affairs continues implementing the plan to evacuate its nationals from the friendly Islamic Republic of Iran.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Yahya said on Saturday the first flight carrying evacuees from Iran via Turkmenistan arrived on Saturday morning, the second will arrive later on Saturday, and a third and final one is due on Sunday, The minister appreciated the efforts of Iranian and Turkmen authorities to facilitate the flights and ensure safe return of Kuwaiti nationals to their homeland.
Kuwait on Friday condemned the heinous aggression by the Zionist occupation on the Gaza Strip and Iran, hoping European-Iranian talks contribute to a ceasefire agreement. Nasser Al-Hain, Kuwait’s permanent representative to the UN and international organizations in Geneva, called on the international community to act “immediately to stop the escalation” and warned the clock was ticking and “remaining idle on this aggression is not acceptable”.
Al-Hain, addressing UN Economic and Social Council, warned against the continuous deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. He called on the importance of ceasing fire and opening crossings to allow delivery of humanitarian aid. What is happening in Gaza is beyond imagination, he said. “It is a humanitarian crisis where innocent lives are killed, vital facilities destroyed amidst a siege that restricts the population from water, food and medicine,” he said. Civilians are paying the price of conflicts, wars and natural and economic crises, he said.
Al-Hain reiterated Kuwait’s firm support of the Palestinian cause, adding the Zionist occupation aggression on Iranian territories is a “blatant violation of the sovereignty of a UN member country, and a threat to regional security and stability”. Kuwait, he said, was ready to be involved in any collective effort to alleviate suffering of people especially in the Middle East. Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, said Al-Hain, pledged some $1.9 billion for humanitarian and development projects up until 2024. Kuwait also supported food, health and educational projects for refugees and displaced in different parts of the world, he added.
The Gulf Group to the United Nations renewed its condemnation of the Zionist occupation attacks on Iran and its nuclear facilities, warning of the seriousness of the repercussions of these attacks on the security and stability of the region as a clear violation of the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. This came in a speech delivered by Minister Plenipotentiary Faisal Al-Enezi, Deputy Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations in New York, on Friday, on behalf of the Gulf Group, before the emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the escalation between the Zionist occupation and Iran.
“We sense the gravity of the stage the region is going through and confirm that the continuation of these deteriorating conditions may lead to catastrophic consequences and exacerbate tensions, which threaten to undermine the chances of a diplomatic solution and the desired peace,” Al-Enezi said. On behalf of the Gulf Group, he called for the exercise of maximum restraint and the immediate cessation of hostilities under these delicate and sensitive circumstances, which require everyone to be vigilant and wise.
Separately, representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to the International Atomic Energy Agency held a meeting with IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi on nuclear safety and security in the Arabian Gulf region. The meeting addressed the concerns of the GCC countries regarding the Zionist occupation’s attacks on Iran, head of the ambassadors of the GCC group of states in Vienna, Kuwait Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to the IAEA Talal Al-Fassam told KUNA on Saturday.
Al-Fassam said that the Gulf ambassadors stressed the GCC countries’ special interest in the safety of these facilities and emphasized the need to ensure the highest levels of preparedness and preventive measures. He added the GCC ambassadors also emphasized during the meeting the pivotal role of IAEA in strengthening preventive security at the regional and international levels. He also pointed to the agency’s role in following up on the technical and operational obligations of states within the framework of the comprehensive safeguards system.
Al-Fassam added that the ambassadors also conveyed the GCC states’ warnings of the dangerous consequences that could result from targeting nuclear facilities, both in terms of human and environmental repercussions. He stressed that this represents a direct threat to radiation safety and the international nuclear safeguards system, in addition to being a clear violation of the provisions of international law and international humanitarian law. – Agencies
