By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: The EU Delegation in Kuwait held a ghabqa on Monday for media representatives on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan. During the event, Gediminas Varanavicius, Chargé d’Affaires of the European Union Delegation in Kuwait, thanked local media representatives for their cooperation and coverage of EU-Kuwait relations and EU-related news throughout the year. Varanavicius hailed the excellent EU-Kuwait bilateral ties, where both sides are determined to build on these strong relations, as evidenced during recent positive meetings between high-level representatives from EU and Kuwait, mentioning EU is the second biggest trading partner for Kuwait and the EU Delegation is determined to translate these words into action by seeking to do more together with Kuwait.

“The EU is eager to continue its political dialogue with Kuwait to compare notes on global and regional files. I hope the next political consultations between EU and Kuwait could be organized later this year,” he said, noting the EU has worked constructively with Kuwait on regional issues such as Syria and the Middle East peace process, welcoming Kuwait’s participation and generous pledge at the international donors’ conference for the people of Turkey and Syria affected by the earthquake. He stated the EU also counts on Kuwait’s participation in the 7th Brussels Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region”, scheduled for June 15.

Varanavicius pointed out that in May 2022, the European Commission adopted a joint communication on a “Strategic Partnership with the Gulf” that aims at enhancing its relations with the GCC - including Kuwait – on a wide range of areas, covering political dialogue, security, counterterrorism, trade and investment, energy, climate change, education, health, cybersecurity and strengthening coordination in multilateral fora. “The above strategy was translated into joint activities throughout the year between the EU and Kuwait.

For instance, on security, the EU organized earlier this year, in cooperation with Kuwait’s ministry of information, a specialized strategic communication workshop on tactics and strategies to counter radical, extremist and terrorist narratives,” Varanavicius said, revealing that this workshop is the first of its kind in the Gulf region and that it has shown that both Kuwait and the EU are facing common global challenges, including on security. The enhanced relationship with the Gulf region and Kuwait in particular is important to overcome those challenges together.

To facilitate people-to-people contacts, the EU Delegation and 16 EU member states represented in Kuwait will celebrate Europe Day on May 9, highlighting the joint aspirations of EU member states under the umbrella of the EU. The date marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman Declaration, which set out the idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, preparing the ground for what is now the European Union. Varanavicius said another element of people-to-people contact is engaging with the youth. In this context, he shared that he was delighted when three outstanding Kuwaiti students from Kuwait University were recognized by the EU Delegation in Kuwait as women and environment ambassadors in a competition organized in partnership with the College of Social Sciences at Kuwait University.

The students produced inspiring policy papers, which touched on key aspects of women’s role in environmental policies in Kuwait. “Facilitating travel is an important element of enhancing people-to-people contacts. The Schengen visa waiver for Kuwaiti nationals is currently in the European Parliament. The draft legislation will have to be endorsed by the European Parliament before the next steps of the EU legislative process can commence” Varanavicius said. Regarding EU-Kuwait cooperation in international fora, he said Kuwait has always expressed its unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity, while condemning the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

“The EU appreciates this principled stance, which was evident in Kuwait’s support to UN resolutions condemning the Russian invasion and calling for its immediate halt. EU counts on Kuwait’s continuous support in this regard.” Varanavicius concluded by saying that during the visit of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell to Kuwait last year, he stressed during his meeting with HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah the strength of the EU-Kuwait partnership. “For the European Union, Kuwait stands as a close and reliable partner,” Borell said.