JERUSALEM: This archive photo shows people distributing food during a Kuwait-funded campaign to give away iftar meals in Ramadan this year. - KUNA

KUWAIT: United Nations Acting Resident Coordinator in Kuwait Hideko Hadzialic said Friday that the State of Kuwait "constitutes an international model to be followed in terms of providing aid and assistance in support of international peace and security under the leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah." Hadzialic added Kuwait also helps in building international and regional partnerships and pursuing peace and preventive diplomacy. These effective political efforts and positions are nothing but an extension of a history deeply rooted in the establishment of the State of Kuwait.

Marking the UN's third anniversary of the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, Hadzialic expressed her "sincere thanks and appreciation for the Kuwaiti pioneering efforts at all levels to enhance security and peace and strengthen plural partnerships, mainly the tireless efforts of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"The United Nations Charter constitutes a tool to enhance the role of diplomacy for peace, and charts the approach that should be taken in light of multilateralism and strengthening our commitment to achieving the goals of sustainable development and building a safer and just world for future generations," Hadzialic noted. "And that commitment is essential to the United Nations, states and to all spectrums of society around the world, more than ever."

The UN official also stressed on the importance of highlighting current challenging circumstances stemming from the outbreak of COVID-19, unresolved disputes, climate change, exacerbated inequalities, deterioration of the humanitarian situation. Hadzialic mentioned these challenging factors undoubtedly affirm the need to work together and promote diplomacy for peace on the local and global levels. Also, she noted "while stressing on the importance of strengthening cooperation between states, companies, individuals and all spectrums of society, and partnering with international organizations to find solutions to local, regional and global challenges."

"The State of Kuwait plays a pioneering role in the field of multilateral partnerships and peace diplomacy, which was evident through its relentless efforts and tireless work in promoting peace and security in the region and beyond," Hadzialic said. "Kuwait spared no effort in taking decisions, especially in issues of concern to the Arab region and maintaining international peace and security. It also reaped the fruits of its labors in solving the Gulf crisis after three years of its role as a mediator calling for an end to the Gulf crisis."

A historic achievement was made in the 41st Gulf Summit (Al-Ula Summit) to heal the Gulf rift by the State of Kuwait, resulting in naming the summit after the late Amir of Kuwait His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, as a recognition of the endeavors of His Highness and the efforts of the leaders of the State of Kuwait in resolving this crisis. "This is besides the leading efforts of the State of Kuwait in hosting international donor conferences to end the Syrian crisis and the generous contribution in support of the Syrian humanitarian situation, hosting the Yemeni peace talks and the International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq, and its generous contributions in support of the countries affected by the spread of COVID-19," she added.

The UN official also noted "through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, whose activities extended to include 107 countries in the world, Kuwait contributed towards various humanitarian and development issues, the last of which was the commitment of the State of Kuwait on September 17, 2020 during the Ministerial Meeting on the Republic of Yemen, which was held on the sidelines of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly with an amount of $20 million, which will be allocated through the Fund."

In addition, the Kuwait Fund has wide-ranging contributions covering a wide scope and geography in terms of supporting host communities for Syrian refugees, as the State of Kuwait has committed financial contributions and hosted conferences to support Syrian refugees. These commitments, which amounted to $1.8 billion, out of which about $377.5 million spent from the resources of the Kuwaiti Fund in support of Syrian refugees in Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, the Jordan, and Lebanon. In addition to various contributions with international and local organizations mandated to protect refugees and providing them with a decent life.

On the other hand, Hadzialic said, "the State of Kuwait has activities in Iraq that commenced after the end of the Iraq Reconstruction Conference held on February 14, 2018, which resulted in mobilizing several international resources amounting to about $30 billion, from which the Kuwait's share amounted to $2 billion in the form of loans and investments."

"Kuwait Fund has initiated the implementation of this fund through an educational project worth KD 23.5 million, and other health projects are being discussed with the Iraqi counterparts," she noted. "The Kuwaiti Fund has also contributed to addressing the epidemics and diseases sweeping the world. The latest of these contributions is the support provided to countries in facing the emerging COVID-19 virus pandemic, as the Kuwaiti Fund contributed to the Debt Service Postponement Initiative launched by the G20 and the World Bank Group in April 2020, which aims to empower poor countries to mobilize and focus their own resources to face the negative repercussions of the pandemic.

Besides providing a set of emergency humanitarian grants that have been allocated to various entities, including UN agencies such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) And the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and in Palestine implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP), through the Islamic Development Bank, Kuwait Fund contributed $42,000,000 for the construction of a comprehensive, functional and operational wastewater treatment plant serving over 217,000 residents of Khan Younis - Gaza," Hadzialic added.

All these grants were mainly aimed at facing the repercussions of the existing health crisis and supporting the humanitarian situation in the beneficiary communities. UN International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace is also a day that represents the reaffirmation of the UN Charter and its principles of resolving disputes among countries through peaceful means. It acknowledges the use of multilateral decision-making and diplomacy in achieving peaceful resolutions to conflicts among nations. - KUNA