KUWAIT: Kuwait Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah met on Monday with the EU Special Representative (EUSR) for the Gulf, Luigi Di Maio, in Oman. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the joint ministerial meeting of the GCC countries Foreign Ministers with the European Union at its 27th session, which is held today in the Omani Capital, Muscat.
The Kuwait Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the meeting tackled the historic bilateral relations between Kuwait and the EU and the strategic partnership on all levels. It added that the meeting also discussed the latest regional and international developments. In another development, EU High Representative Josep Borrell announced on Monday that he is convening an emergency meeting of EU Foreign Ministers to address the situation in Palestine and in the region.
Borrell’s spokesperson, Peter Stano, told a press conference in Brussels that the EU foreign ministers meeting will take place in Muscat as a number of EU foreign ministers are already on the ground and those not in Muscat will be joining by video conference. They will discuss all the aspects of the situation on the ground, he said. Borrell, who is in Omani capital Muscat to co-chair the 27th EU-GCC ministerial meeting, said in a message on social media that he “will have the opportunity to discuss with our regional partners our common challenges and the need to work together to manage regional and international crises and to deepen our cooperation.”
On Tuesday, Borrell will co-chair the EUGCC Joint Council alongside the current Omani GCC Presidency, represented by Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Oman. Meanwhile, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, who is also in Oman for the EU GCC ministerial meeting, said today on social media X that they will “discuss the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza. For Belgium, the priority now is to “stop the violence, protect civilians, and respect international law.”
Also, Kuwait Minister of Foreign Affairs met Monday with his Cypriot counterpart Constantinos Komboson the sidelines of the 27th ministerial meeting of the GCC Foreign Ministers with the European Union. The foreign ministry said in a statement that during the meeting, the two sides discussed current developments in the region, namely the latest developments related to the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruling declaring the law ratifying the agreement regulating maritime navigation in Khor Abdullah waterway between the two countries unconstitutional, in addition to international and political efforts to preserve security and stability in the region. The two sides shed light on the recent developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza strip. - KUNA