Kuwait clears diplomat nomination

Manama: Kuwait has approved the nomination of Mohammad Hussain Mohammad Bahr Al Uloom as Iraq's ambassador to Kuwait, diplomats said on Wednesday.

"We have endorsed his appointment and he is welcome here any time he wants to come," the unnamed sources were quoted as telling Al Anba daily.

Initial news of his appointment last month were warmly greeted by Kuwait and Shaikh Mohammad Sabah Al Salem, the foreign minister, said that the nomination after a 20-year hiatus was a good move, while a foreign ministry official denied pressure from either Baghdad or Tehran on Kuwait City to approve it.

The post has been vacant since 1990 when Iraq invaded the state.

The nominee is the son of Shiite scholar and politician Mohammad Bahr Al Uloom and the brother of the former oil minister.

The new ambassador will tackle pending issues between Kuwait and Iraq after the general elections and the composition of the new government, Mohammad Al Haj Humood, the foreign affairs undersecretary, told the daily Al Jareeda. "Al Uloom is in a long line of eminent individuals from an illustrious and well-known family who struggled against the Baath party and the Saddam regime.

"We are keen on starting a new chapter in the diplomatic, cordial and constructive relations between Iraq and Kuwait based on mutual respect and appreciation," he said.