Kuwait denies claims it barred Iraqis from entering country

Kuwaiti authorities have denied claims that it had banned "Arabs holding specific nationalities" from entering the country. The Kuwaiti denial was unequivocally supported by Iraq's foreign minister.

"We do welcome all Arab visitors who have valid entry visas in line with the regulations followed by the majority of the world's countries," Colonel Mohammad Hashim Al Sabr, the interior ministry spokesman, said.

On Tuesday, Iraqi businessman Nizar Hashem Al Riffai claimed that the Kuwait airport authorities had refused to allow him and a business delegation into the country based on an interior ministry order to give all Arabs except Iraqis the possibility to enter Kuwait.

"The business delegation members flew in from Dubai on a Kuwait Airways plane, but were surprised upon arrival in Kuwait City that they would not be allowed to enter the country, even though all of them had been granted entry many times before. This is a serious development and call upon the Iraqi government to summon the Kuwaiti ambassador in Baghdad for consultations," he said.

However, Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari denied allegations that Kuwait had barred Iraqis from entering its territory.

"Our relations with our sister Kuwait are excellent and there is an Iraqi ambassador in Kuwait and a Kuwaiti ambassador in Baghdad," he said.