World Bank’s (WB) Country Manager in Kuwait Firas Raad

KUWAIT: The World Bank (WB) is eager to partnership with Kuwait to help in the reconstruction of recently liberated areas in Iraq, said a regional WB official yesterday. Speaking to KUNA, the World Bank's Country Manager in Kuwait Firas Raad lauded His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for his initiative to hold an international conference for the reconstruction of Iraq.

"The World Bank is honored to be part of this partnership opportunity," said Raad who took the chance to extol Kuwaiti diplomacy, which led in recent years to the organizing of several humanitarian conferences for victims of war-torn and disaster-inflicted countries. On July 11th, Kuwait announced that it would hold a conference to help Iraqis overcome the destruction left by the so-called Islamic State (IS).

This initiative displays Kuwait's utter commitment to global relief aid efforts and it adds another milestone to the country recognized as a UN global humanitarian center, said Raad. Last month, Kuwait-through the Foreign Ministry-began contacts with Iraq and global partners in preparation for the conference to be held on its soil possibly in the first quarter of 2018. The World Bank, established in July of 1945, is a global financial institute, which has around 189 member states and 120 bureaus around the world. Kuwaiti national, Dr Merza H Hasan serves as Executive Director and Dean of the Board of Executive Directors of World Bank Group (WBG).

Relief aid in Basra

Meanwhile, Kuwait continued to deliver aid to Iraq's third largest city of Basra yesterday, the latest installment of a campaign put together by a Kuwaiti charity. Speaking to KUNA, the head of Kuwait Red Crescent Society's (KRCS) delegation in Basra Ahmad Al-Fagaan pointed out that the aid is for the displaced people in Basra and that around 11,000 families are beneficiaries of the Kuwaiti aid campaign. On the aid, he noted that it included food baskets and 500 pre-paid coupons distributed all across the Iraqi city. The KRCS official added that Kuwait as a nation throws its weight behind such initiatives that reach out to needy people in Iraq.

20 sailors found dead

In another development, the bodies of 20 Iraqi sailors have been recovered after their ship sank following a collision off the country's southern coast, the transport ministry said on Thursday. The Al-Mesbar sank in Iraqi waters on Saturday following the collision with a foreign-flagged vessel, after which eight sailors were rescued and the bodies of four others found. The ministry said in a statement that 16 more bodies were found when the ship was raised on Thursday. Iraqi authorities have ordered the foreign vessel impounded following the collision, which took place in the Khor Abdullah maritime canal between Iraq and Kuwait.- Agencies