SECRETARY-GENERAL ARRIVES IN KUWAIT

Press Release
SG/T/2013

SECRETARY-GENERAL ARRIVES IN KUWAIT

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali arrived in Kuwait City at 8:45 p.m. last night, at the start of a three-day official visit to Kuwait. He was received at the airport by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah; Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sulaiman Magid Al Shahin; Kuwaiti's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mohammad A. Abulhasan; and the Head of the Department of International Organizations and Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdel Rahman Al-Awadi.

The Secretary-General made the following statement at the airport:

"This is my first visit to the State of Kuwait as Secretary-General of the United Nations, and it will be an honour to meet with His Highness the Amir of Kuwait and His Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The main objective of this visit is to further strengthen relations between the United Nations and Kuwait.

"In addition, I will be visiting the forces of the United Nations Iraq- Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) and I will also meet with representatives of Kuwaiti development funds and of other international organizations in Kuwait and the region. I would like to seize this opportunity to thank His Highness the Amir, the Government and people of Kuwait for the close cooperation between Kuwait and the United Nations."

The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, welcomed the Secretary-General on behalf of His Highness the Amir, the Kuwaiti Government and the Kuwaiti people, and wished him a pleasant and successful visit.

At 9 a.m. today, the Secretary-General was received by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah at the Al Bayan Palace. The Secretary-General was accompanied by the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Hazem El Beblawi; his Military Adviser General Franklin Van Kappen; UNIKOM Force Commander Major-General Jian Giuseppe Santillo; the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Khalid Philby; and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative Mustafa Omar.

The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation to His Highness the Amir of Kuwait for attending the two recent United Nations summit meetings: the World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen last March; and the special commemorative meeting of the General Assembly, held at Headquarters in October on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. He said that the Amir's participation demonstrated Kuwait's strong support for the United Nations.

In their discussion, the Secretary-General conducted a tour d'horizon of United Nations activities and peace-keeping operations, including the Organization's forthcoming role in Bosnia and Herzegovina; the situations in Rwanda, Burundi, Angola and Somalia, as well as those in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Georgia. He also reviewed the recent elections in Haiti, which were conducted successfully in a peaceful and orderly fashion, with United Nations assistance.

The Secretary-General underlined his continuing efforts to persuade the Iraqi Government to accept Security Council resolution 986 (1995). He said he had hoped that there might be a change in the Iraqi Government's position, which would contribute to the alleviation of the suffering of innocent Iraqi women and children.

The Secretary-General then reviewed the situation in Western Sahara and his efforts to persuade the parties to allow the identification process to move forward.

The Secretary-General and His Highness the Amir of Kuwait also exchanged views on the current dispute between Yemen and Eritrea over the islands in Bab El Mandab, in the Red Sea.

His Highness the Amir of Kuwait thanked the United Nations for its role in the liberation of Kuwait, and expressed his appreciation for the Secretary- General's efforts to secure world peace and development.

At 10:15 a.m. this morning, the Secretary-General met the Crown Prince and Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Saad Al Abdallah Al Salem Al Sabah, who welcomed the Secretary-General on behalf of the Kuwaiti Government and people. He said that the Secretary-General's forthcoming visit to Yemen and Eritrea would be a positive step. They also discussed the problem of Kuwaiti and third country nationals held in Iraq. The Secretary-General expressed his satisfaction that UNIKOM had been able to facilitate several meetings of the parties under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and urged the continuation of those negotiations. He said he had met recently in Geneva with the ICRC President to discuss the issue of prisoners of war and missing persons. The Secretary-General also expressed appreciation for Kuwait's excellent cooperation with UNIKOM.

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His Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister vowed to continue Kuwait's cooperation with the United Nations in all fields.

At 10:45 a.m., the Secretary-General visited the National Assembly and met with its President, Ahmad Abdul Aziz Al Sadoon. They discussed the importance of the role of parliamentarians in international affairs. The President pointed out that the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990 and its liberation by a multinational coalition in 1991 under the authority of the Security Council had been one of the United Nations success stories.

The Secretary-General then addressed a joint meeting of the National Assembly Committees for Foreign Affairs and for the Protection of Human Rights. He praised the National Assembly for its ratification, the day before, of the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and described it as a positive step. He said the United Nations looked forward to further measures by the Kuwaiti National Assembly to ratify the International Covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and on Civil and Political Rights, which, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, constituted the International Charter for Human Rights.

The Secretary-General reviewed the important roles of UNIKOM and the United Nations Special Commission, as well as the work of the Compensation Commission. He said that the United Nations was producing a book on the Iraqi aggression against Kuwait as one of a series of "Blue Books" on global issues. The book would be an historical, chronological record of the invasion and liberation of Kuwait, comprising the relevant United Nations documents. He said that the United Nations and Kuwait shared the common objectives of peace, development and the protection of human rights. He expressed appreciation for Kuwait's role in the political, economic, and culture spheres on the regional and global levels.

At 11:45 a.m. the Secretary-General met the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber. They discussed regional and international affairs, including the dispute between Yemen and Eritrea, and the situation in Western Sahara.

The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs expressed Kuwait's appreciation for the role of the United Nations, particularly the positive contribution of UNIKOM, and welcomed the new Force Commander, Major General Jian Guisseppe Santillo.

The two sides also reviewed the work of the United Nations system in Kuwait, including UNDP and UNHCR. The Secretary-General underlined the importance of ESCWA in regional development, and urged Kuwait and other countries in West Asia to strengthen their support for it. They also discussed the Secretary-General's efforts with the Iraqi Government on Security Council resolution 986 (1995), as well as the question of prisoners and missing persons

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and the return of property. They also reviewed bilateral relations between Kuwait and the United Nations.

At 1 p.m. the Secretary-General was the guest of honour at a luncheon hosted by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber, and attended by members of the Kuwaiti cabinet of ministers and the diplomatic corps.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General visited the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development where he was greeted by the Deputy Director-General, Abdel Wahab Al Badr, and senior members of the staff. Founded in 1961, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development is the oldest development organization in the Arab world. Throughout the past 34 years, it has extended aid to over 75 countries around the world, at a total cost of some 2.4 billion Kuwaiti dinars.

The Secretary-General praised the work of the Fund and its cooperation with international organizations such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and UNDP. He said it was an important symbol of South-South cooperation and an example of what a developing country can offer the international community.

The Secretary-General then visited the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, where he was received by its Director-General, Ali Al-Shamlan. The Secretary-General was given a tour of the facilities and then watched a multi-media presentation which reviewed the scientific, cultural and educational programmes of that foundation in the post-liberation period.

In the evening, the Secretary-General was the guest of honour at a dinner hosted by His Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Sheikh Saad Al- Abdullah Al Salem Al Sabah, attended by all the members of the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers and the diplomatic corps.

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