WELLINGTON: Kuwait withdrew one of its diplomats from New Zealand following an allegation of assault, several media outlets in New Zealand reported. The envoy was removed after the Middle Eastern country declined to waive diplomatic immunity, NZ Herald reported yesterday.

The police said they were called to a central Wellington address in the early morning of November 18, 2015. "This involved an allegation of assault by a diplomat from the Embassy of the State of Kuwait."

But the police investigation halted when a request on their behalf last year by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for Kuwait to waive diplomatic immunity was rejected. As a result, the Ministry asked Kuwait to withdraw the diplomat.

The Ministry would not name the diplomat. "The process of diplomatic immunity is set out in long-established international law under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963," the Ministry said.

"New Zealand is explicitly clear with diplomatic missions that we expect them to act in accordance with New Zealand laws, and that we will request immunity be waived if allegations of a serious crime are made.