Gulf regional security, Iraq, Iran, ME peace top US & Kuwait talks
NEW YORK, Aug 1, (KUNA): His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who is now in New York, is poised to fly to Washington on Sunday on a two-day state visit to the US. During his stay in Washington, HH the Amir is to have official talks with US President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday. Spokesman of the White House Robert Gibbs said that Obama will welcome Sheikh Sabah to the White House. Gibbs indicated that Obama “looks forward” to consulting with HH the Amir “on deepening our partnership on bilateral and regional issues such as the pursuit of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including moving forward with the Arab Peace Initiative.” He noted that Obama will be meeting HH the Amir in the Oval Office. According to Gibbs, Obama and HH the Amir “will then have lunch together, joined by the vice president.” “The United States and Kuwait enjoy strong relations and cooperation,” he affirmed.
Kuwaits Ambassador to Washington, Sheikh Salem Al-Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah had affirmed to KUNA, that the regional issues that will be discussed during the summit meeting will focus on four “important” files which are the security in the Gulf region, Iraq, Iran and the Middle Eastern dossier. He added that the issue of the Kuwaiti detainees in Guantanamo “is always in the mind of His Highness the Amir, therefore it is considered a top topic which His Highness Sheikh Sabah will be discussing with President Obama.”
Kuwaiti-US relations are excellent and have been further boosted throughout the years, given the regional developments, an official said here Saturday. In a statement to KUNA, Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs, Ambassador Edward Gnehm described Kuwaiti-US relations as “very, very good, and they have been for decades,” adding that “they (relations) have been tested given the troubles in Iraq and the region.”
He stressed the importance of emphasizing the strength of the bilateral bonds, which he said “have actually led to a lot of consultations, talks and cooperation.” Gnehm, who was US Ambassador to Kuwait from 1991-1994, shed light on the strong “personal” ties many Kuwaitis shared with the Bush family and the Republican Party “which liberated Kuwait.”
He added that those relations remained strong during the eight-year Clinton Administration, where programs continued and expanded.
He expected bilateral activities to further expand under the Obama Administration.
“President Obama came into office faced with enormous areas of concern” such as the ailing economy and many other domestic issues, which “are going to get the first and priority attention” of the president, he remarked.
However, he said, “this does not mean that international affairs are less important,” but it just means that there are other issues that must be dealt with.
He noted that the president “has established the importance that we had to improve our relationship globally as it had suffered enormously in the previous few years.”
The first action, which Gnehm considered a decision on international affairs taken by Obama, was appointing George Mitchell as Middle East envoy, saying that “this says a thousand words about how critical the Middle East is to us.”
Meanwhile, the official noted that economic and cultural relations between Kuwait and the US were not on same level as the political and military ones.
Gnehm said that this was due to several reasons, such as legislations that had not been passed which would facilitate the expansion of the trade, as well as the diversification of the Kuwaiti economy — the more it diversified, the more the opportunities for American and Kuwaiti companies to work there.
Despite these factors, he said that the business economic relationship “is still strong but it could be much better.”
“We have talks about the Free Trade Agreement which have not progressed very far,” he indicated, in addition to the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) signed between the two countries in February 2004.
Gnehm noted, “I think that when His Highness the Amir is here in Washington and talking to Obama ... he will be warmly received and those areas of cooperation and close liaison are going to dominate the conversation.” As for Iraq, he said that “Kuwait has been supportive of bringing Iraq back in the community of the Arab states and has sent an ambassador there, which not all the Arab states have done.” “I am a strong voice that the commitments laid under the (UNSC) resolutions remain totally valid, particularly that the border is demarcated, which is the only border on the entire planet that has a Security Council guarantee,” he stressed. Gnhem added, “The issue is finished and over with, and Iraq needs to accept that and it’s not open for obligations.” President Obama will be receiving His Highness Sheikh Sabah at the White House on Monday, where the talks are expected to focus on several regional issues, such as security in the Gulf region, Iraq, Iran and the Middle Eastern dossier. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs had said in this regard that Obama “looks forward” to consulting with His Highness the Amir of Kuwait on “deepening our partnership on bilateral and regional issues such as the pursuit of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including moving forward with the Arab Peace Initiative.”
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwai...d=35388&ccid=9
NEW YORK, Aug 1, (KUNA): His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who is now in New York, is poised to fly to Washington on Sunday on a two-day state visit to the US. During his stay in Washington, HH the Amir is to have official talks with US President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday. Spokesman of the White House Robert Gibbs said that Obama will welcome Sheikh Sabah to the White House. Gibbs indicated that Obama “looks forward” to consulting with HH the Amir “on deepening our partnership on bilateral and regional issues such as the pursuit of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including moving forward with the Arab Peace Initiative.” He noted that Obama will be meeting HH the Amir in the Oval Office. According to Gibbs, Obama and HH the Amir “will then have lunch together, joined by the vice president.” “The United States and Kuwait enjoy strong relations and cooperation,” he affirmed.
Kuwaits Ambassador to Washington, Sheikh Salem Al-Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah had affirmed to KUNA, that the regional issues that will be discussed during the summit meeting will focus on four “important” files which are the security in the Gulf region, Iraq, Iran and the Middle Eastern dossier. He added that the issue of the Kuwaiti detainees in Guantanamo “is always in the mind of His Highness the Amir, therefore it is considered a top topic which His Highness Sheikh Sabah will be discussing with President Obama.”
Kuwaiti-US relations are excellent and have been further boosted throughout the years, given the regional developments, an official said here Saturday. In a statement to KUNA, Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs, Ambassador Edward Gnehm described Kuwaiti-US relations as “very, very good, and they have been for decades,” adding that “they (relations) have been tested given the troubles in Iraq and the region.”
He stressed the importance of emphasizing the strength of the bilateral bonds, which he said “have actually led to a lot of consultations, talks and cooperation.” Gnehm, who was US Ambassador to Kuwait from 1991-1994, shed light on the strong “personal” ties many Kuwaitis shared with the Bush family and the Republican Party “which liberated Kuwait.”
He added that those relations remained strong during the eight-year Clinton Administration, where programs continued and expanded.
He expected bilateral activities to further expand under the Obama Administration.
“President Obama came into office faced with enormous areas of concern” such as the ailing economy and many other domestic issues, which “are going to get the first and priority attention” of the president, he remarked.
However, he said, “this does not mean that international affairs are less important,” but it just means that there are other issues that must be dealt with.
He noted that the president “has established the importance that we had to improve our relationship globally as it had suffered enormously in the previous few years.”
The first action, which Gnehm considered a decision on international affairs taken by Obama, was appointing George Mitchell as Middle East envoy, saying that “this says a thousand words about how critical the Middle East is to us.”
Meanwhile, the official noted that economic and cultural relations between Kuwait and the US were not on same level as the political and military ones.
Gnehm said that this was due to several reasons, such as legislations that had not been passed which would facilitate the expansion of the trade, as well as the diversification of the Kuwaiti economy — the more it diversified, the more the opportunities for American and Kuwaiti companies to work there.
Despite these factors, he said that the business economic relationship “is still strong but it could be much better.”
“We have talks about the Free Trade Agreement which have not progressed very far,” he indicated, in addition to the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) signed between the two countries in February 2004.
Gnehm noted, “I think that when His Highness the Amir is here in Washington and talking to Obama ... he will be warmly received and those areas of cooperation and close liaison are going to dominate the conversation.” As for Iraq, he said that “Kuwait has been supportive of bringing Iraq back in the community of the Arab states and has sent an ambassador there, which not all the Arab states have done.” “I am a strong voice that the commitments laid under the (UNSC) resolutions remain totally valid, particularly that the border is demarcated, which is the only border on the entire planet that has a Security Council guarantee,” he stressed. Gnhem added, “The issue is finished and over with, and Iraq needs to accept that and it’s not open for obligations.” President Obama will be receiving His Highness Sheikh Sabah at the White House on Monday, where the talks are expected to focus on several regional issues, such as security in the Gulf region, Iraq, Iran and the Middle Eastern dossier. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs had said in this regard that Obama “looks forward” to consulting with His Highness the Amir of Kuwait on “deepening our partnership on bilateral and regional issues such as the pursuit of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including moving forward with the Arab Peace Initiative.”
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwai...d=35388&ccid=9