Kuwait's Deputy Foreign Minister hails strong Kuwaiti-French bonds

KUWAIT: Kuwait's Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah regretted on Sunday that there were persons residing in Kuwait and wanted by Egypt's judiciary authority, confirming they were extradited to Cairo. Jarallah was referring to security authorities' clamping down on a terrorist cell of the Muslim Brotherhood Organization's Egyptian members who had been convicted of terrorism.

Asked by reporters on sidelines of a reception by France's Embassy on country's national day about branding the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, Jarallah said Kuwait did not declare the Brotherhood was a terrorist organization. "This position has already been made public," he said. Kuwait extradited those arrested to Egypt in line with an extradition agreement, he said.

Jarallah said security coordination with Egypt "is very high. We are satisfied with this cooperation … because we realize the security of Egypt and Kuwait were linked." Kuwait's Ministry of Interior said members of the cells had been handed down verdicts by the Egyptian judiciary, indicating some of the detainees had been sentenced to 15 years behind bars in their home country. The interior ministry's personnel located whereabouts of the fugitives, who had escaped from the Egyptian authorities to Kuwait, and arrested them. During interrogations, they admitted to carrying out terrorist operations in Egypt.

Grave mistake
Meanwhile, Jarallah slammed Al-Arabiya anchor's remark as a grave mistake that requires correction. "This a fatal mistake that requires intervention from our brothers in Al-Arabiya channel to redress it as Kuwait worked and will continue to work to heal the Gulf rift," Jarallah told reporters. He cautioned that this egregious error is not compatible with risks undermining credibility and professionalism of the prominent news channel Al-Arabiya. "I believe, this is not the reward that Kuwait should be granted for its efforts to achieve Gulf unity," he lamented. He pointed out that Kuwait will retain its efforts and calls for ending media campaigns and to make sure that such campaigns will not spoil brotherly relations among the GCC peoples. He emphasized making Kuwait a target for these campaigns "is wrong, unjustifiable and unacceptable."
Kuwait's Ministry of Information has issued earlier on Sunday a statement about the incident and have contacted Al-Arabiya's bureau in Kuwait and the channel officials. In its statement, the ministry said the Kuwait refuses to get involved in matters that do not concern the country and deplored the remark as tantamount to a grave insult. Kuwait will always be committed to the unity of the Gulf region through its efforts to quell any internal discord, read the statement. It called for an end to malicious media campaigns that are detrimental to ties within the Gulf bloc. It noted that Kuwait has contacted Al-Arabiya television officials and will respond appropriately in order to sort out the issue.

Strong bonds
In the meantime, Jarallah lauded Kuwait's strong and deeply-rooted ties with France, extending greetings to the French government and people on their "dear national occasion." He highlighted the continued cooperation between Kuwait and France in all domains, especially, economy, investment, energy, culture, education and military. Jarallah expressed satisfaction with the level of military cooperation between the two friendly countries. Many of the Defense Ministry's personnel are receiving military education and training in France, he pointed out. He expressed Kuwait's appreciation to France for its role in maintaining the security and stability of Kuwait and the whole region as well as to its principled supportive stance to Kuwait during the Iraqi occupation time and its contribution to Kuwait's liberation war. - KUNA