Boris Johnson

LONDON: Kuwait's Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah announced that Britain's Secretary of State Boris Johnson is to pay an official visit to the country tomorrow to discuss recent developments on the Gulf dispute and ways to end it.

Jarallah made his remarks after meeting Wednesday with Johnson in London, adding that they both reviewed developments of the Gulf dispute since its beginning, as well as Kuwait's efforts aimed at bridging the gap and reaching a solution to the root causes of the dispute.

The Kuwaiti-British discussion also addressed recent situation developments in the region, particularly the dispute between Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt, he said, adding that Johnson expressed his country's praise of the efforts exerted by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in brining points of view closer and containing the ongoing dispute.

Meanwhile, Jarallah mentioned that his meeting with British Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt earlier was "positive" and "beneficial" for both sides, adding that it addressed the ongoing Gulf dispute and Britain's support of the Kuwaiti efforts to contain and end the dispute. The meeting also discussed regional issues regarding Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Gulf-Iranian relations, he said, noting that Kuwait and Britain share similar views on these issues. On outcomes of the Kuwaiti-British steering committee's meeting, which concluded today, Jarallah said that the committee reviewed latest achievements of deals signed in previous meetings, adding that the steering committee is a monitoring body that follows and watches implementation of signed agreements.

The Kuwaiti senior diplomat official also mentioned that signing an MoU with Britain in the information security field will boost the fruitful cooperation between the two countries, particularly Kuwait as the deal will provide its various state and private sectors with high protection to their information security systems.

Amir's role

In the meantime, British Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt highly commended on Wednesday the mediation efforts by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah aiming to resolve the Gulf crisis. Speaking in a statement on the sidelines of the Kuwait-British committee meetings, Burt said the United Kingdom has strong bonds of friendship with all Gulf countries and appreciates the GCC unity and cohesion. He expressed his hope that the Kuwaiti mediation efforts would succeed in containing the crisis. Johnson met Jarallah in London earlier, and said he looked forward to visiting Kuwait to discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Wednesday expressed sorrow over Qatar's "negative" response to their demands. They extolled the mediation role by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait aiming to find a resolution to the crisis. The four countries affirmed the importance of strong relations amongst Arab nations, and deep appreciation to the Qatari people. - KUNA