Baghdad: Iraq has handed over to the State of Kuwait a new batch of recently recovered property. Assistant Foreign Minister for International Organizations, Ambassador Abdulaziz Al-Jarallah, told KUNA on the sidelines of the handover ceremony at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in the Diplomatic Quarter that this batch includes 400 boxes containing books and microfilm belonging to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, Al-Jarallah praised the positive role played by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in monitoring and organizing the handover of Kuwaiti property, emphasizing Kuwait’s commitment to joint efforts to ensure the complete return of all remaining Kuwaiti property and archives. He welcomed UN Security Council Resolution 2792, adopted on September 17, 2017, which mandates the Council to continue its work on the files of Kuwaiti prisoners of war and missing persons, third-country nationals, and Kuwaiti property, including the national archives. The resolution appoints a High-Level Representative of the Secretary-General to support and facilitate efforts related to determining the fate of Kuwaiti prisoners of war and missing persons and third-country nationals, recovering their remains, and returning Kuwaiti property, including the national archives.
Al-Jarallah affirmed the State of Kuwait’s commitment to supporting the High-Level Representative in fulfilling his assigned tasks to the fullest extent. He expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the Iraqi authorities regarding the file of Kuwaiti property, stressing the importance of continuing these efforts to locate and recover important Kuwaiti property, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions.
For his part, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Ambassador Dr. Mohammed Al-Hassan, described the handover ceremony as a landmark day in the history of Kuwaiti-Iraqi relations, noting that these are the foundations upon which relations between neighboring countries that respect and acknowledge one another should be built. Al-Hassan added that this marks the beginning of a new phase of cooperation between the two brotherly countries, pointing out that the best relations are those between neighboring states, especially the State of Kuwait and the Republic of Iraq, and the strong bonds and good relations that unite the two brotherly peoples.
In turn, the Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral and Legal Affairs, Shorsh Saeed, stated that this batch of archives is not the first and will not be the last, emphasizing that the Iraqi government is determined to implement all relevant resolutions, including Resolutions 678 and 2107. Saeed explained that Iraq is serious about this issue, whether it pertains to the Amiri archives or the file of missing persons and prisoners of war, noting that his country has exerted efforts with its brothers in the State of Kuwait and is achieving successes in this area. He noted that meetings between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi sides are ongoing and characterized by communication and positivity, indicating that the meeting of the technical committee on border demarcation will be held a few days after the Iraqi parliamentary elections, specifically on the 16th and 17th of this month.