the Prime Minister’s Easter 2024 message
 
March message from Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Bilal El-Hayek
 
A solemn funeral to the late Nazih Nicolas in Sydney
 
One Year of Repair, Reform and Action, and much more to do.
 
Kuwait deplores Israeli occupation's seizure of Palestinian land
 
Patriarch Duwaihi's beatification ceremony to be held in Lebanon
 
One Year of Repair, Reform and Action, and much more to do across Canterbury
 
Have your say on a planning proposal in Carlingford
 
Protecting religious institutions
 
AFIC President, stated that AFIC strongly condemns any act of violence and terrorism and stands in solidarity with the Russian people
 
The community’s hopes and expectations of a Muslim public figure
 
Mr Keating has been a public critic of the AUKUS security pact,...”.
 
German FM extols Kuwait's leading role in int'l response to challenges




Photo:   German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier

German FM extols Kuwait's leading role in int'l response to challenges

05/10/2015

BERLIN-- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has reiterated that the State of Kuwait has succedded, through its leading capabilities, to rally the international community to face unprecedented threats that have emerged in the region, thus, affecting Europe.

In an exclusive interview with Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) ahead of his prospective visit to Kuwait to meet with the political leadership in the coming few days, Steinmeir asserted that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has shown admirable leadership in rallying the international community, and especially the Gulf countries, to jointly shoulder this unprecedented challenge.

"At the same time, I think Kuwait's political experience could be an important inspiration for the region. Since its independence, Kuwait has shown that political and religious pluralism, the ability to tolerate divergent views and the spirit of compromise and consensus-building - despite its difficulties or occasional setbacks- are a source of strength and stability. Only in this spirit will we be able to overcome the current crises", he added.

He pointed out that the friendship between Kuwait and Germany goes back a long time. Last year, His Highness Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah visited Germany on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Kuwait's participation in Daimler AG, Kuwait's earliest big foreign investment at the time, saying that this goes to show Kuwait's valued role as a reliable, long-term partner.

"We have a strong and growing cooperation in the health sector. After June's horrible terrorist attacks on the Imam Jaafar Al-Sadeq Mosque, German doctors treated many of the injured. We are open to expanding our engagement. There are many fields where we could strengthen our cooperation, such as vocational training, environmental and transportation technology, renewable energies and, of course, cultural cooperation", he noted.

As the third largest humanitarian donor in the Syrian refugee crisis, Germany, too, is bearing its part of the burden. Nonetheless, the truth of the matter is that the international aid efforts for both Syria and Yemen remain woefully underfunded, Steinmeir asserted, noting that "We must all step up our efforts to not only provide for the refugees' survival but also to offer young people education and hope for a better future".

"It is true that, in both Syria and Yemen, all attempts by the international community to bring the parties to the negotiating table have failed thus far - due in no small part to the inability of crucial international and regional actors to put their differences aside. In both countries, millions of innocent men, women and children are suffering unspeakable violence and deprivation. And yet, I am convinced that neither Syria nor Yemen will find stability and peace by military means, but only through a political settlement", he said.

"My hope is that the nuclear agreement with Iran provides an opportunity for opening new channels of dialogue. The recent Russian intervention in Syria has shown that this will by no means be a smooth process. But that must not stop us from doing everything in our power to help create the conditions for peace talks. We owe that much to the Syrian and Yemeni people", he clarified.

The German Minister said the region is currently facing the worst humanitarian crisis of "our time. More than 15 Million Syrians depend on humanitarian aid, as do millions of Yemenis".

"Let me be perfectly honest: Europe's response to the refugee crisis so far does not meet the standards that Europe must set for itself. We have therefore made proposals for a new, much more ambitious integration of European asylum policy, founded on the principle of solidarity and our shared values of humanity.

"In recent weeks, we have made some progress towards this goal, with an agreement on the distribution of 120.000 refugees among member states. But much more work remains to be done. The refugee crisis is one of the greatest challenges facing Europe in our generation. There will be no quick fixes. But I am convinced that only together and only at the European level will we be able at all to find rational solutions", said the minister.

He went on saying: "In these turbulent times my first priority is to discuss the urgent political agenda with our Kuwaiti partners in depth. I am much honored to be received both by His Highness the Crown Prince, as well as my dear colleague Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. And I am very much looking forward to meeting his Excellency the speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Marzouq Al Ghanim. It is no secret that I would have liked to spend more time in Kuwait and have the opportunity to learn more about the cultural and economic sector", he concluded.


 














Copyright 2007 mideast-times.com