Kuwait ties with Jordan closely-knit, says Deputy FM

KUWAIT: Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah underlined that Kuwait’s relations with Jordan are “closely-knit, solid, historic and deep,” spurred on by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah and King Abdullah. His remarks to a Jordanian TV channel came after Jordan football fans shouted slogans at a home match against Kuwait, which caused “deep hurt” to the people of Kuwait. The chants “glorified those who invaded Kuwait, killed its children and seized its belongings. He is not a national hero at all,” said the official. Ties between both are too deep-rooted to be affected by these “cheap and pre-planned attempts,” he added.

On the other hand, Jarallah praised responses made by public and official channels within Jordan to these “insulting and irresponsible” actions. Jordan’s parliament was quick to “fiercely condemn” the incident, saying the actions were carried out by a “small few.” Earlier, Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah phoned Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi conveying Kuwait’s “resentment and rejection” of the incident. These chants “damage the spirit of sport, bearing no relation to it whatsoever,” he said. Regretting the behavior, Safadi asserted that such acts do not reflect the nature of the sisterly relations between the countries and the Jordanian people’s respect of the Kuwaiti people, added the statement. Safadi also stressed that his country will not condone such acts and will take necessary actions to identify perpetrators and hold them accountable.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom Aziz Al-Daihani stressed relations with Jordan are “sturdy and deepseated”, way above and beyond “cheap shots” and “irresponsible” chants. Commending statements by the Jordanian Senate, House of Representatives and football association (JFA) that vehemently rejected offensive chants by a “sliver” of Jordanian football fans during World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers against the Kuwaiti team Thursday evening, Ambassador Daihani said, “Kuwait was and will continue to be a beacon of tolerance and wisdom... An umbrella and incubator for all Arabs,” pinning hope on “awareness” of both peoples to overcome this incident and its impacts due to, and stemming from the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

In separate statements, both chambers of the Jordanian parliament and the JFA disowned “the irresponsible acts” of the fans and promised to take action against offenders. Meanwhile, the Jordanian police earlier on Friday said it has apprehended two individuals who made the shameless chants, with a spokesperson of the security directorate telling reporters that investigation is underway on the matter in an attempt to apprehend more involved. In their away match, the Kuwaiti national football team drew with their Jordanians 0-0 in a group B qualifier for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, and the Asian Cup, due in China in 2023. The game was attended by Jordanian Crown Prince and President of the West Asian Football Federation Ali bin Al-Hussein and saw the attendance of about 11,000 spectators. The 1,000 fans of the ‘Blues’ stole the spotlight twice throughout the match; first when they arrived in Amman International Stadium to show support for their national team, and the other when they went Japanese-style cleaning after themselves at their section of the stadium. —KUNA