EU-Kuwait relationship takes big leap forward

BRUSSELS: The recent announcement that the European Union is to open its Delegation (embassy) in Kuwait marks a significant turning point in relations between the 28-member European bloc and the Gulf country. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced in Brussels on July 13 after a meeting with EU High Representative Federica Mogherini that the EU will open its embassy in Kuwait by the end of this year.

He noted that the opening of the EU embassy in Kuwait would contribute to strengthening bilateral relations in all fields. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said Kuwait supports and participates in the role of the EU to find solutions to the problems in the region; in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, the Middle East Peace Process, and the fight against terrorism. Kuwait also supports and participates in the EU’s humanitarian efforts, he noted.

On her part, Mogherini at a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels on July 16, announced her intention to open an EU Delegation in Kuwait to strengthen bilateral relations. The EU opened its first Delegation in the Gulf region in Saudi Arabia in 2004. The EU’s Riyadh Delegtion is accredited to five Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia).

A second EU Delegation opened in Abu Dhabi in 2013 and covers the United Arab Emirates. Observers note that Mogherini has played a key role in boosting ties between Brussels and Kuwait. She visited Kuwait In July 2017 to underline Europe’s support to efforts by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah to resolve the Gulf crisis. The EU’s top diplomat visited Kuwait again in February 2018 to cochair the International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq. During her press conferences in Brussels, Mogherini regularly praises His Highness the Amir’s prominent humanitarian role and his peacebuilding efforts in the region.

She also lauded Kuwait’s role as a force of stability and for coordinating the international effort to provide humanitarian assistance to Syria and other countries affected by the conflict and for Kuwait’s cooperation with the EU in the UN Security Council. “Kuwait is doing excellent work in the Security Council. We are cooperating closely with them,” noted Mogherini at the EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting earlier this month.

Memorandum of Understanding

Kuwait’s Ambassador to the EU, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg Jassem Al-Budaiwi, supported by his young, talented and hard-working team of diplomats at the embassy deserve a big applause for their unrelenting and persistent efforts to deepen and expand ties with EU. In two years since he assumed his post in Brussels, Al-Budaiwi has made his mark through his energetic engagements on the diplomatic and political circles in the EU’s capital, observers say.