FM partakes in OIC meet on sideline of UNGA
‘Expanding co-op amongst members vital’
NEW YORK, Sept 28, (KUNA): Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah took part Friday in the consultative meeting for members of the Organization Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held on the sideline of the 74th UN General Assembly in New York.
In his speech to the meeting, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled stressed the importance of expanding cooperation amongst OIC members to address issues of common interest.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled affirmed it was important to address major topics such as the Palestinian cause and ways to support Palestinians to gain their right in an independent state within the 1967 border and Jerusalem as the capital of the future country.
Matters such countering terrorism of all kinds, including Israeli terrorism against Palestinians, fighting Islamophobia and hate speech, which resulted in massacres against Muslims such as the one in New Zealand’s Christchurch town and elsewhere, are vital to discuss to find adequate solutions, he indicated.
Back to the Palestinian cause, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said it was the most central issues for Islamic nations, adding that support the economic and social levels would hopefully overcome some of the injustices inflicted by Israelis against Palestinians.
Israel should be stopped from attempting to annex lands in the West Bank and other areas in the region, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled indicated, saying that such responsibility falls in the hands of all OIC members.
On the Syrian crisis, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled expressed utter condemnation of the degrading humanitarian situation in the war-torn country.
He called for all parties involved in the conflict to abide by the UNSC resolution 2254 and the Geneva 1 accord of 2012, adding that the OIC supports all UN and global efforts to end the war in Syria.
The current situation in Idlib, with the displacement of over half million human beings is alarming, said the Kuwaiti top diplomat, adding that there should be measures to halt the deaths of thousands of civilians in Syria.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled expressed sorrow over the veto against a UNSC draft resolution last week, which called for a ceasefire in Idlib, pointing out that political gains should not trump efforts to end the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria.
The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister discussed the situation in Yemen in his speech, saying that Kuwait supported the legitimate Yemeni government.
Kuwait is for solving the situation in accordance with the GCC initiative, the resolutions of the national Yemeni dialogue, UNSC resolutions 2216 and 2451, and the Stockholm accord for Yemen, affirmed the Kuwaiti Minister.
In regards to the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled expressed Kuwait’s detest of all acts of genocide against the Muslim minority, saying that his country, alongside members from the UK and Peru, headed last a UNSC delegation to Myanmar to view first the plight of the oppressed Rohingyas.
The delegation of Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled to the meeting included head of his office Assistant Minister Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi, and other senior officials.