Kuwait Prime Minister discusses COVID-19, Yemen, Libya at 75th opening of UN General Assembly

Kuwait City: Kuwait’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Sabah, gave a speech on behalf of the Emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, at the opening of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled spoke on a variety of issues from the UN’s ‘exceptional role’ in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic to the ongoing Yemen crisis that poses a threat to regional stability and security.

During the speech, Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled congratulated Volkan Bozkir for being elected as the President of the UN General Assembly.

COVID-19

Speaking from his office in Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled said that the COVID-19 crisis has affected the whole world and the repercussions can be seen throughout the globe.

He stressed the importance of enhancing and implementing environmental, social, health and economic systems, as the world has not seen a crisis at this scale.

Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled mentioned that it is the responsibility to back the efforts of the international community to combat the virus. He pointed out that Kuwait donated around $290 million to the World Health Organization (WHO), stressing its commitment to supporting international efforts to produce vaccines.

Showing support and appreciation to the UN staff, Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled announced that Kuwait is ready to host UN employee’s that are in a critical state and are field workers in central and western Asia.

Palestine

On the topic of Palestine, Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled said that the Palestinian issue is a key and pivotal issue to Arabs and Muslims. He affirmed Kuwait’s firm and committed stance in support of the Palestinian people.

In regards to Yemen, the Prime Minister said that the ongoing crisis poses a dangerous threat to regional stability and security. He pointed out the importance of implementing the Stockholm agreement, a deal that was brokered by the UN in Sweden in December 2018 between the Yemeni government and the Houthis.

“In this context we renew our firm position that the Yemeni crisis can only be resolved politically based on the following: the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism, the outcomes of the national dialogue and UN resolutions, mainly 2261, renewing out support to all efforts made by the UN security General’s Special Envoy for Yemen aimed at resuming the political process to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis,” he said.

He advised all parties to respond positively and agree to the proposal he presented.

In addition, he welcomed the constructive role played by Kuwait’s friendly neighbor, Saudi Arabia, to activate the Riyadh Agreement, he reiterated Kuwait’s condemnation of all attacks on Saudi soil and he affirmed Kuwait’s support for all measures taken by the Kingdom to preserve its security and stability.

Syria, Libya and Iran

The only way the Syrian crisis can be solved is by negotiation, Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled mentioned. He called on all parties involved to join in talks as it is the only way to end the nine-year humanitarian disaster.

Moving onto the topic of Libya, Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled reaffirmed its position in calling all parties involved in the Libya crisis to self-restraint and prioritize peaceful solutions that are based on dialogue, not violence. He pointed to the positive results made during the talks to create a comprehensive roadmap to unify the state’s sovereign institutions in line with the UN Security Council resolutions.

Finally, he said that Kuwait renews its call for Iran to take concrete procedures to start dialogue and build confidence, while also respecting sovereignty and domestic affairs to other countries, as well as reducing tension in the Gulf.