NEW YORK:Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-KhaledAl-Hamad Al-Sabah held talks with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on thefringes of the 74th UN General Assembly session. The meeting, which took placeon Friday night, focused on cooperation between the State of Kuwait and thevarious UN agencies, a number of regional and global challenges and the UNprogram of action for the coming years. The UN chief commended the 'effectiveand constructive' cooperation with Kuwait and applauded the leading role ofKuwait in humanitarian action and peacemaking efforts regionally and globally.
He praisedKuwait's highly significant position in the international community and its'relentless efforts to boost security and peace around the world. Also attendingwere Kuwait's Assistant Minister Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah,Permanent Delegate to the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi and Minister Plenipotentiary andAssistant Foreign Minister for International Organizations Nasser Al-Hain aswell as other senior diplomats.
Meanwhile, SheikhSabah Al-Khaled and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held ameeting in New York Friday, discussing various issues including ways to bolsterties. On the sideline of the 74th UN General Assembly, the two officialstouched on the latest developments within the regional and internationalscenes. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled also held similar meetings on Friday with hisGreek counterpart Nikos Dendias, Brazil's Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo, andAlgeria's Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum.
OIC meeting
In the meantime,Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled took part Friday in the consultative meeting for membersof the Organization Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held on the sideline of the 74thUN General Assembly in New York. In his speech to the meeting, Sheikh SabahAl-Khaled stressed the importance of expanding cooperation amongst OIC membersto address issues of common interest.Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled affirmed it wasimportant to address major topics such as the Palestinian cause and ways tosupport Palestinians to gain their right in an independent state within the1967 borders and Jerusalem as the capital of the future country.
Matters suchcountering terrorism of all kinds, including Israeli terrorism againstPalestinians, fighting Islamophobia and hate speech, which resulted inmassacres against Muslims such as the one in New Zealand's Christchurch townand elsewhere, are vital to discuss to find adequate solutions, he indicated.Back to the Palestinian cause, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said it was the mostcentral issues for Islamic nations, adding that support the economic and sociallevels would hopefully overcome some of the injustices inflicted by Israelisagainst Palestinians. Israel should be stopped from attempting to annex landsin the West Bank and other areas in the region, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaledindicated, saying that such responsibility falls in the hands of all OIC members.
Syrian crisis
On the Syriancrisis, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled expressed utter condemnation of the degradinghumanitarian situation in the war-torn country. He called for all partiesinvolved in the conflict to abide by the UNSC resolution 2254 and the Geneva 1accord of 2012, adding that the OIC supports all UN and global efforts to endthe war in Syria. The current situation in Idlib, with the displacement of overhalf million human beings is alarming, said the Kuwaiti top diplomat, addingthat there should be measures to halt the deaths of thousands of civilians inSyria. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled expressed sorrow over the veto against a UNSCdraft resolution last week, which called for a ceasefire in Idlib, pointing outthat political gains should not trump efforts to end the humanitariancatastrophe in Syria.
The KuwaitiForeign Minister discussed the situation in Yemen in his speech, saying thatKuwait supported the legitimate Yemeni government. Kuwait is for solving thesituation in accordance with the GCC initiative, the resolutions of thenational Yemeni dialogue, UNSC resolutions 2216 and 2451, and the Stockholmaccord for Yemen, affirmed the Kuwaiti Minister. In regards to the RohingyaMuslims in Myanmar, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled expressed Kuwait's detest of allacts of genocide against the Muslim minority, saying that his country,alongside members from the UK and Peru, headed last a UNSC delegation toMyanmar to view first the plight of the oppressed Rohingyas.
Meeting on Yemen
Sheikh SabahAl-Khaled had also headed Kuwait's delegation to a ministerial meeting on Yemenheld on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in NewYork Thursday. In his speech at the meeting which was co-chaired by Kuwait, theUK, and Sweden, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled reaffirmed Kuwait's full support to allefforts exerted to end conflict and restore security and stability in Yemen. Healso reiterated Kuwait's readiness to provide all support to Yemeni people.
The Kuwaiti topdiplomat urged the international community intensify efforts to restoresecurity and stability in Yemen according to the three agreed terms ofreference, implement the Stockholm Agreement, and render the UN-led politicalprocess a success. He called for greater backing for the United NationsSecretary-General Special Envoy to Yemen efforts to achieve these goals. Themeeting tackled the framework for resuming negotiations in Yemen to reach afinal agreement for the crisis and help preserve the country's sovereignty, independenceand territorial integrity.
GCC-EU meeting
Sheikh SabahAl-Khaled Al-also took part in the Gulf-European meeting held on the sidelinesof the 74th session of UN General Assembly in New York. Sheikh Sabah Khaled ledthe Kuwaiti delegation to the meeting presided over by Oman's Foreign MinisterYusuf bin Alawi. The meeting discussed the friendly relations and cooperationas well as coordination between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) memberstates and the EU member states.
It also focusedon means of promoting and developing these ties in all domains, includingpolitics, economy and investment. The gathering dealt with the developments ofregional and international situations, and issues of common concern. The twosides affirmed all common goals and principles, and commitments towardsbuilding constructive cooperation and partnership between the two sides. - KUNA