Call for clear-cut goals of Arab order
Kuwait urges concerted Arab action
ALGIERS, Nov 2, (Agencies): Representing His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Wednesday called for more concerted Arab coordination and cooperation to address political, economic and security challenges.
Addressing the 31st Arab Summit held in Algiers, His Highness the Crown Prince said: “Today’s meeting comes amid serious challenges and risks the Arab world is facing. Amid these numerous political, economic and security challenges and their swift developments, it is now our duty to press for more joint Arab action through further coordination and cooperation to address them.”
His Highness the Crown Prince elaborated that there should be some clear-cut and unequivocal visions that could attain the aspired goals of the great Arab order and fulfill the ambitions of the Arab people.
On Middle East, he called on the international community to ensure fruitful Middle East peace efforts and to arrive at a permanent and total solution based on international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, leading up to an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. In this context, he reiterated Kuwait’s outright support for Algerian efforts to achieve inter-Palestinian reconciliation, commending them as a significant step amid the challenges of the Palestinian cause. As for Syria, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad restated Kuwait’s unwavering stance based on opposing a military solution to this bloody conflict, and paving the way for a political solution that could meet the expectations of the Syrian people and maintain Syria’s security, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Regarding Yemen, he voiced Kuwait’s concern over Houthi militia’s rejection of Yemen’s truce extension and UN efforts, but urged the UN to continue its good offices in a bid to find a political settlement to the Yemeni standoff. His Highness the Crown Prince, further, reiterated emphatic condemnation and denunciation of the recent terrorist attack on Al-Dhaba oil field in Hadhramaut Province in a flagrant breach of international norms and laws, not to mention relevant UN Security Council Resolution 2215. He called on the international community to move immediately and effectively in order to deter such acts and bring the perpetrators to accountability only to safeguard security and peace and to maintain energy supplies and international trade corridors. Concerning Iran, he echoed Kuwait’s commitment to friendly and cooperative relations with Iran, based on the respect of internal law principles, notably non-interference in internal affairs and respect of states’ sovereignty and good neighborliness. He also restated Kuwait’s unremitting support for the freedom of navigation in international waters, in addition to its utter rejection of all forms of foreign interference in the sovereignty of any Arab country.
Concern
In relation to Ukraine, he affirmed that the whole world is monitoring with extreme concern the perilous ramifications of this crisis on international peace and security, as well as on world humanitarian and economic conditions. In this regard, he maintained, Kuwait reaffirms its principled and unyielding opposition to military intervention, as well as full support for all international and UN efforts to adopt dialogue and a political solution built on the respect of international law and the UN Charter. He spoke highly of the role and efforts of the Arab League in resolving the conflict and finding a diplomatic solution to this crisis. However, His Highness the Crown Prince underlined that the State of Kuwait sticks to the multilateral international order, and the principles and goals of the UN Charter, as well as the promotion of mediation and preventive diplomacy with a view to staving off the impacts of wars and conflicts on generations to come. He, further, called for developing regional cooperation and integration and joint ventures between the region’s countries in order to serve sustainable development and fight climate challenges by means of speeding up the fulfillment of environmental ambitions and buttressing innovation and partnerships in this regard. Furthermore, he stressed that Kuwait follows with much interest all Arab issues, chiefly the fight against terrorism and extremism, along with regional and international security. He restated absolute rejection of all forms and manifestations of terrorism, while urging concerted regional and international efforts to fight terrorism and extremism and to dry out its financing sources. In conclusion, he underscored that Kuwait’s initiative on a necessary all-out Arab security strategy, which was included in the Arab League’s Resolution 8766 during its 157th session, should be put in place at an early date. Arab leaders on Tuesday met in Algeria at the 31st summit of the largest annual Arab conference to seek common ground on divisive issues in the region. The meeting comes against the backdrop of rising inflation, food and energy shortages, drought and soaring cost of living across the Middle East and Africa.
Showcase
The event provided an opportunity for Algeria Africa’s largest country by territory - to showcase its leadership in the Arab world. Algeria is a major oil and gas producer and is perceived by European nations as a key supplier amid the global energy crisis that stems from Russia’s war in Ukraine. The 22-member Arab League last held its summit in 2019, before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. In the years since, new challenges have drastically reshaped the region’s agenda - the establishment of diplomatic ties between Israel and four Arab countries, as well as the fallout of the war in Ukraine. The summit’s discussions on Tuesday and Wednesday focused on the food and energy crises aggravated by the war that has had devastating consequences for Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia, among other Arab countries, struggling to import enough wheat and fuel to satisfy their populations. Deepening the crisis, is the worst drought in several decades that has ravaged swaths of Somalia, one of the Arab League’s newer members, bringing some areas of the country to the brink of famine. Russia’s reinforcement of its blockade on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports on Sunday threatens to further escalate the crisis, with many Arab countries near solely dependent on Ukrainian and Russian wheat exports. The war in Ukraine “has exacerbated the food and energy security crisis, along with a number of other reasons ... climate change and natural disasters,” Tunisian President Kais Saied said in the opening address. He called for a “robust multilateral action” to ensure Arab food security. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he’s been “working non-stop” with all relevant players on preserving and extending the deal on Ukrainian grain exports from its Black Sea ports.