Politics 9/12/2011 8:20:00 PM KUWAIT, Sept 12 (KUNA) — Kuwait and Morocco on Monday asserted their interest in having strong bilateral relations in all fields and uniting their stances in support of the Palestinian Authority bid to have independent state.
“I have carried with me a letter from Moroccan King Mohammad VI to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah focusing on Morocco’s strong desire to strengthen and develop bilateral economic and trade relations,” said Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Taib Fassi Fihri in a joint press conference with Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah here.
The press conference followed the signing here of a memo to bolster diplomatic relations between the two Arab nations.
Under the memo, holders of diplomatic and special passports would be allowed to enter both countries without prior entry visas.
The Moroccan minister added that talks with the Kuwaiti side have touched on a large array of issues of common concern, particularly the Arab-Israeli conflict.
“Both countries have affirmed their support to the Palestinian Authority statehood bid in the United Nations,” Fihri said.
He hailed the freedom of the press and Parliament in Kuwait and Morocco. “We are confident both nations will forge ahead in the path of their democratic development to serve their people.” With the regard to talks about his country’s accession to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Fihri said Morocco is an integral part of the Arab Maghreb but seeks a special advanced partnership with GCC states.
“We are waiting for the outcome of the Technical Committee, which includes representatives of Morocco and General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the coming summit,” he said. “We are looking forward to build the strongest possible relationship with GCC member States in all domains particularly security, politics and human development.” With regard to Morocco’s ties with Arab Maghreb Union, Fihri said the future of Morocco within its geographical and strategic region.
“However, the Arab Maghreb Union has not developed, unfortunately, due to the previous circumstances. But we are looking with better ties with new Libya and Tunisia,” the Moroccan minister said.
“Morocco and GCC are yearning to build a model of cooperation for the interest of people in the Gulf region or the Arab Maghreb.” With regard to the political uprisings in several Arab countries, Fihri said “the problem was lying in the leaderships and their credibility.” “There was a need to listen to the aspirations of Arab people, especially youth, and to meet them wisely,” he asserted.
He underlined all Arab countries should exerted more efforts in the path of economic development and democratization.
For his part, Kuwait Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad said talks tackled buttressing bilateral relations and activating of joint action.
“Talks touched upon what was discussed at the GCC Ministerial meeting in Jeddah about the need to found “what our brothers in Morocco calls, a creative model partnership that leapfrogs the idea of full membership to reap the fruits of the joint activities,” he said.
Asked about the GCC benefits from a partnership with Morocco and Jordan, Sheikh Mohammad said GCC states are seeking to take advantage of the existing capabilities in both countries.
“Morocco has great influence and expanded relations not only in his region but with the whole world. It is situated in distinguished location making it the bridge between the Arab world, Africa and Europe,” he noted.
“We have many ideas on how to optimally benefit from this geographical location through launching several investment projects there.” He said also noted that Jordan has highly-qualified and trained manpower and investment-friendly laws.
“Therefore, the GCC states will reap huge fruits from the partnership with Jordan,” he said, adding that “Kuwait is biggest investor in Jordan because it is a promising market that has clear regulations.” Sheikh Mohammad underlined that partnership with Morocco and Jordan is a part of the efforts eyeing bigger Arab cooperation and the establishment of the Arab open market.
The Kuwaiti top diplomat also pointed out that the GCC has a partnership with Yemen.
“But Yemeni leadership has not lived up to its commitments as per the partnership,” he said.
“Partnership with Morocco and Jordan will be much better than the troubled one was with Yemen.” Sheikh Mohammad denied any negative impact to this move on the Arab League.
“This is partnership for the interest of a group of Arab states that vowed to work for the benefits of themselves and the whole Arab nation,” he confirmed.
“Moreover, the Arab League Charter encourages the establishment of such regional blocs in support of joint Arab action.” The Kuwait official said unveiled that the talks with Moroccan counterpart have touched upon the Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo Tuesday.
“As the Palestinian Authority is preparing to move to the United Nations to seek recognition, we stressed the need for serious Arab action to mobilize the largest number of countries to support the Palestinian demands,” he said.
Talks also tackled the pressing issues in the Arab region from the Maghreb to the East including security of the Gulf states, relationship with Iran and Iraq and recent uprisings.
The two ministers also discussed Iraqi controversy about the Kuwaiti Mubarak Al-Kabeer port project.
Sheikh Mohammad also expressed regret about the recent provocative anti-Kuwait demonstrations in Iraq.
“We all regret these actions that have been recently staged by a small number of Iraqis,” he said.
“We still believe that the new Iraq is pluralistic states that seeks good ties her neighbors. Therefore, these actions harm Iraq not Kuwait.” The two officials also extensively discussed the situation in Syria.
“The GCC Ministerial Council has issued a statement on the stance of the recent developments in Syria,” Sheikh Mohammad said.
“We are also looking forward to knowing the Syrian regime’s respond to the Arab initiative for resolving the crisis in Syria. (pickup previous) kt.ibi KUNA 122020 Sep 11NNNN
