New York City: UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has expressed satisfaction at what he called the “growing momentum” for full normalisation of Kuwaiti-Iraqi ties that was recently crowned by the visit of the Kuwaiti Premier, Shaikh Jaber Mubarak Al Jaber Al Sabah to Baghdad and the signing of some pacts.
The Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), quoted Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al Otaibi as saying that the Secretary-General had called Emir of Kuwait Shaikh Sabah Al Jaber Al Sabah and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki to express his satisfaction at the improvement of the bilateral ties.
“What’s been done in the past weeks is an accomplishment,” Ban said after meeting with the permanent delegate of Kuwait at the UN, Ambassador Al Otaibi, and his Iraqi counterpart, Mohammad Ali Al Hakim, where they handed over a signed memorandum of understanding concerning the establishment of a joint committee for tackling border issues.
Al Otaibi quoted Ban as saying that this was the first time he had held a joint meeting with the Kuwaiti and Iraqi sides. “Things are going onto the right direction. Disputes over the implementation of the Chapter VII obligations have drained the efforts of the UN Security Council, nonetheless, things are greatly improving,” he said.
The UN will ensure that all pending issues between the two countries will come to a closure, Ban affirmed.
Al Otaibi thanked the UN chief for all exerted efforts through his recurrent visits to both countries to ensure leaving a “positive footprint in bilateral ties.” He noted that the Kuwaiti delegation in New York is in contact with members of the UN Security Council over a draft law that will be approved on June 27th. The draft law will end the tenure of the High-Level Coordinator for Iraq/Kuwait missing persons and property, Gennady Tarasov. The issue of missing persons and property will be assigned to UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and it will be included in Chapter V not VIII on the UN Charter.
The Iraqi envoy, Al Hakim, said the Kuwaiti premier’s visit “marks history” and Iraq will be faithful to all international commitments towards the state of Kuwait even if the Iraqi government changes.
“We are looking forward to a tremendous cooperation with Kuwait that includes exchange of visits and investments,” he noted.
