Kuwait, Iraq ‘eager’ to turn page of the past: Al-Rashed
KHARTOUM, Jan 20, (KUNA): Head of the Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation, House Speaker Ali Fahad Al-Rashed asserted here on Sunday that Kuwait and Iraq are seeking to turn the page of the past and strengthen their bilateral relations for the sake of the two countries and peoples.
This came in a press statement made by Al-Rashed after meeting head of the Iraqi delegation attending the conference of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUOIC) MP Hammam Hammoudi.
Al-Rashed quoted Hammoudi as saying that the former Iraqi regime had carried out criminal acts against the Iraqi people and Kuwait, adding that both countries’ parliaments have a big responsibility to restore relations.
He said in this context that he had received an invitation from the Iraqi parliament speaker to visit Iraq in the next few months.
Al-Rashed expressed satisfaction over the recent actions that took place between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi governments, calling for continued efforts in this respect.
He said that governments “agree and disagree on certain issues, but parliamentary relations is a popular diplomacy that make distances between people closer.” On his assessment of deliberations of the current PUOIC session, Al-Rashed said that the conference is moving in the right direction as planned, adding that “there are good proposals submitted by some countries and are being discussed now.” For his part, Hammoudi said that Kuwaiti-Iraqi ties have witnessed positive developments, recalling the recent settlements made by the two countries regarding the files of Iraqi Airways and border signs.
Earlier Al-Rashed called on Islamic countries to unite and coordinate to form a strong bloc in international conferences to confront everybody who wanted to link terrorism with Islam.
Al-Rashed was speaking to reporters shortly after arrival in Khartoum.
He said conferees would discuss the Palestinian cause and the “zionist entity’s” building of settlements on occupied territories.
He said Islamic countries should have a “serious” position over the Israeli practices.
Al-Rashed said issues on the agenda would also be the Syrian conflict. He called for an end to the bloodshed in Syria and to support the UN-Arab League special representative to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi’s endeavors to address the conflict.
The assaults against Muslim community in Burma will also be discussed, he said.
On the Syrian refugees, Al-Rashed said Kuwait would host a donors’ conference for Syria by the end of this month. The conference was called by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
Speaker of the Sudanese national assembly Ahmad Al-Taher said Kuwait and Sudan would discuss a host of Arab and international issues of mutual interest.
He said the Khartoum Declaration would include of all issues discussed by the conferees, notably Syria, Mali and Muslims in Burma.
arabtimesonline.com
