British official praises Amir’s humanitarian role
Speaker Ghanem receives British lawmakers
LONDON/KUWAIT: British Minister of State for International Development Desmond Swayne lauded His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as a humanitarian leader who has transformed Kuwait into an international hub for humanitarian giving.
Swayne expressed his appreciation, in a statement to (KUNA) yesterday, for planned participation of His Highness the Amir and the accompanying official delegation at the Fourth Syria Donors Conference, due in London on Thursday, to support the humanitarian situation in the war-stricken country in cooperation with Britain, Norway, Germany and United Nations leaders.
He recalled the significant role played by Kuwait for hosting the three previous conferences at this level, noting that the resulting commitments have contributed to alleviation of the humanitarian crisis in Syria and its neighboring countries.
The British official urged the international community to contribute generously to avoid last year’s problems when the United Nations World Food Program announced that it will limit the services provided to refugees due to lack of financial support.
He also called on the participants in the London conference to ensure that all children and young people, affected by the conflict, have sustainable access to safe, qualitative and relevant educational opportunities during the 2016/2017 academic year.
“The UK has committed more than 1.1 billion sterling pounds in aid for the region,” he added, noting that Britain is doing its moral duty in terms of funding the refugees to alleviate their humanitarian suffering. Kuwait hosted the previous three donation conferences to support the humanitarian situation in Syria, gathering pledges of more than $7.7 billion, of them $1.3 billion by Kuwait.
Historic relations
Meanwhile, Speaker of the National Assembly Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem received yesterday the delegation of the BritishKuwaiti membership committee in House of Commons. During the meeting, Ghanem and the delegation’s head, Philippe Lee, discussed relations between the two countries and means of promoting them in all fields, mainly in the parliamentary sector.
The delegation stressed the status of historic relations between the two countries, reaffirming Britain’s commitment to maintaining security of Kuwait and all GCC member states, as well as stability in the region. The delegation also emphasized that the agreement between the two countries on extradition of those wanted has reached its final phases, to be approved as soon as possible.
The delegation included Chris Leslie, Stephen Phillips, Chris Evans and Kevan Jones. The meeting was attended by MPs Adel Al-Kharafi, Yousef Al-Zalzalah, Faisal Al-Shaya, Mubarak Al-Herais, Mohammad Al-Jabri, Ahmed Al-Qudaibi, Rakan Al-Nisf and the parliament’s Secretary General Allam Al-Kandari.
Significant part
Dr Lee meanwhile praised the bilateral relations between Kuwait and Britain describing the ties as “strong and historic.” After meeting the head of Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee MP Kamel AlAwadhi at the National Assembly, Lee spoke to the press saying that this visit is aiming to reinforce the relations between the two countries, especially on the 55th anniversary of Kuwait’s independence from Britain, and the 25th anniversary of Kuwait’s Liberation “in which the British forces took a significant part.”
About the Syrian Refugee cause, he mentioned that Britain plans to receive 20,000 Syrian refugees, mostly orphan children. He said Britain is pleased to host the fourth donors’ conference for Syria in London this week, with co-host from Kuwait, noting that Britain is playing a big role currently as the second largest donor in the region, helping Syrian refugees in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. Meanwhile, British MP Jones talked about the British visa for Kuwaitis, saying that easing the visa procedures is a very important step, due to the large flow of Kuwaitis visiting Britain for different reasons.
Diplomatic Institute
Also yesterday, Director General of Saud Al-Nasser Al-Sabah Diplomatic Institute Ambassador Abdulaziz Al-Sharekh met with the British delegation to discuss ways to enhance cooperation. A press statement issued by the institute said that Sharekh briefed the visiting delegation on recent activities the institute has conducted in the diplomatic realm.
Both parties reviewed historic relations between Kuwait and Britain as Al-Sharekh acknowledged British efforts of upholding security and eliminating all threats that Kuwait had encountered during the last century, the statement noted. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Director General of the institute Abdullah Al-Yahya and the British Ambassador to Kuwait Matthew Lodge.—KUNA