Kuwait sets out path to closer ties with US and improving governance
The foreign minister of Kuwait and his American counterpart elaborated on a 25-year road map that is likely to bring the two countries closer than ever before and improve Kuwaiti standards of governance.
In this, the second round of the US-Kuwait Strategic Dialogue – which started in October 2016 – Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled, the foreign minister, announced the signing of 17 new bilateral accords including a counter-terrorism information sharing agreement that is aimed at fighting extremism in the region.
The foreign minister appeared yesterday with the US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, at a joint conference to announce that both countries aim to increase bilateral relations to an unprecedented level.
The meetings began last week upon the arrival in Washington of Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed, the emir of Kuwait, who led a delegation of Kuwaiti ministers, army officials and businessmen.
As part of the deal, the Kuwaiti director general of customs, who was present at the day-long meeting on Friday morning, signed a disclosure agreement with the United States Customs and Border Patrol to share customs information.
It is thought that the two countries will develop an integrated system and also work on bringing the outdated Kuwait International Airport up to international standards of security.
“We signed the arrangement to fight terrorism and share information in that context and also to have co-operation to address the security holes in Kuwait International Airport,” said Sheikh Sabah, who is also Kuwait’s deputy prime minister.
The Kuwaiti foreign minister and Mr Tillerson said they will continue improving security arrangements in the passenger terminals at Kuwait International Airport and create an office for US Customs and American Border Security.
A source at Kuwait International Airport said this was probably the first step in implementing the pre-clearance security requirement, by which US-bound travellers from Kuwait International Airport can go through American customs before boarding, just as they do at UAE international airports.
The two officials also agreed to work closely on counter-terrorism by both enhancing Kuwait’s military capabilities and sharing intelligence.
“FBI director [Christopher] Wray and minister of interior Khaled [Al Sabah] signed a counter-terrorism information-sharing arrangement which will strengthen our fight against terrorism,” said Mr Tillerson in Washington.
The two countries are expected to discuss improving Kuwait’s cyber security in the third round of talks on the strategic partnership, which is expected to take place early next year, a source from the Kuwaiti minister of foreign affairs told The National.
Kuwait’s finance minister, Anas Al Saleh, met the US commerce secretary and Kuwaiti and American businessmen to discuss mutual investment and increasing bilateral trade.
They said Kuwaiti investments in the US amounted to more than US$400 billion (Dh1.46 trillion) with trade averaging $4bn a year, according to the foreign minister.
On the education side, the two countries set up plans to significantly increase the number of Kuwaitis studying in US universities from the current figure of 15,000.
Kuwait was the first Gulf country to begin a scholarship programme in the United States, sending the first batch of students in 1946. Of Kuwaitis who study abroad, the highest proportion go to US colleges.
“Well, we have thousands of Kuwaiti citizens studying in the US universities.
“And since our last round of this dialogue, we have increased the number of Kuwaitis coming to study in the US,” Sheikh Sabah said.
Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed, the emir, and Donald Trump, the US president, held meetings over the weekend in which it is believed they discussed the Qatar situation.
“The United States and Kuwait both recognise the importance of GCC unity to meet the challenges of the region that we all face together, not the least of which are the threats from Iran,” Mr Tillerson said.
We signed the arrangement to fight terrorism and share information and address security holes in Kuwait International Airport SHEIKH SABAH AL KHALED Foreign minister of Kuwait