KUWAIT: Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah received on Tuesday several outgoing Arab and foreign ambassadors. Sheikh Dr Ahmad met separately with the Ambassadors of Tunisia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Nigeria, and India -- Ahmed Sghaier, SM Abul Kalam, Piet Heirbaut, Garba Gajam Muhammad, and Jeeva Sagar respectively. Sheikh Dr Ahmad thanked the diplomats on their efforts to bolster ties, wishing them luck in their future endeavors.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Dr Ahmad Al-Sabah telephoned his German counterpart Heiko Maas discussing the solid bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and means of boosting these ties further in various sectors. The two ministers discussed cooperation for coping with repercussions of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), latest developments on the regional and international arenas and issues of joint concern.

Annexation
In other news, Sheikh Dr Ahmad Al-Sabah headed Kuwait's delegation at an Arab-level meeting to discuss Israel's announcement of measures to annex parts of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley. This was held via audio-visual technology on Tuesday at the invitation of Jordan, in the context of continuous coordination towards developing a common vision to confront Israeli intentions of annexing parts of the West Bank and imposing sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea regions.

Sheikh Dr Ahmad reiterated Kuwait's adherence to the Arab position that states that peace is the choice and that a fair solution is based on the two-state solution, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions and the principle of land for peace. This includes Palestinians obtaining all their political rights, establishing an independent state on their land as there is a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter. Kuwait's delegation included the Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs Ambassador Fahad Al-Awadhi and a number of foreign ministry officials.

Cybersecurity strategy
Separately, Sheikh Dr Ahmad Al-Sabah received at the ministry's general office Tuesday Chairman and CEO of Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) Engineer Salem Al-Othaina, in the presence of Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Khaled Al-Jarallah. The ministry said in a press statement that during the meeting, Othaina provided a comprehensive review of the national cybersecurity strategy in Kuwait, the completed implementation programs and the global standards that are applied within this framework.

The meeting showed steps taken by Kuwait towards qualifying professionals that will be trained in this vital sector and the support services provided by the authority to all government agencies and institutions towards maintaining the security of its digital data, improving its performance in an optimal manner that coincides with the latest technology in this field.

Assistant Foreign Minister for Europe Waleed Al-Khubeizi, Assistant Foreign Minister for the Deputy Foreign Minister's Office Ayham Al-Omar, Acting Assistant Foreign Minister for the Office of the Deputy Minister Saleh Al-Loughani and a number of officials at the ministry attended the meeting. - KUNA