ShareKUWAIT: Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Yahya said Tuesday Kuwait, as an active member of the UN, played a leading role in enhancing the organization’s agenda for protecting international peace and security. He hailed the UN Day, observed on October 24, saying this is an occasion for Kuwait to renew its commitment to contributing to the valuable efforts of the UN to serve humanity. Al-Yahya made the comments at a celebration hosted by the UN mission in Kuwait on Tuesday in the presence of Deputy Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and a number of senior diplomats and representatives of the UN mission and friendly countries.
The UN Day provides an opportunity for the international community to recommit itself to the principles and objectives of the UN Charter with a view to realizing the common aspirations for peace and security, he said. “The UN constitutes the cornerstone of multilateral action and an unparalleled global organization having a legitimacy and ability to lobby for collective action,” Al-Yahya pointed out.
Since joining the UN in 1963, Kuwait has provided all possible support to the UN-sponsored activities, particularly in the humanitarian and developmental areas, in order to ensure prosperity for all nations of the world and alleviate the suffering of disaster-hit people. Kuwait, as a beacon of hope, believing deeply in the significance of collective action, has offered a helping hand to those who need help regardless of any ethnic or religious considerations.
Kuwait rose to the challenge in providing protection to civilians trapped in armed conflict and used protective diplomacy to address the root causes of instability through peaceful dialogue, thus backing the UN agenda for a more secure world, the minister explained. Under the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Kuwait reaffirms its commitment to protecting international peace and security, alleviating the suffering of disaster-hit nations, and supporting sustainable development, as Al-Yahya pointed out.
He spoke highly of the UN’s contributions to security and peace since its foundation in 1945. The UN Day celebration, themed “sustainable peace and security,” coincides this year with formidable and unprecedented challenges facing the world, including highly complicated conflicts, which made the UN role in resolving the conflicts and restoring stability more important than ever, he noted. Recalling the historic role of the UN in helping Kuwait restore its sovereignty and liberty in 1991, Al-Yahya said this was one of the most important and most successful examples of the UN role in protecting international peace and security.
On her part, United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kuwait Ghada Hatim El-Tahir said that Kuwait, through commitment to the international conventions, continued to be an essential partner of the UN in the journey to peace and development. Kuwait and the UN work together for realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promoting sustainable peace and collective action worldwide, she noted.
The UN agencies have genuine partnerships with the government and people of Kuwait in various areas such as economic diversification, empowerment of youth, promotion of health, education, and employment, environment protection, and promotion of human rights and governance, El-Tahir stated. The 2024 global peace index ranked the State of Kuwait first among the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries and 25th on the world level, which signals Kuwait’s leading role in peacebuilding, she added. — KUNA
