11/21/2013
Ambassador of the State of Kuwait Hosted the Reception in Honor of Arab African Friendly Ties

On the occasion of the State of Kuwait’s initiative to host the Third Africa Arab Summit in Kuwait City, on November 19-20 2013, H.E. Mr. Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Japan organized the reception at the Embassy of the State of Kuwait receiving the honorable participants representing 26 African and 15 Arab countries, as well as representatives of the Japanese governmental institutions, i.e., Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in charge of Arab and African regions. The gathering was also attended by journalists from prominent Japanese mass media, such as NHK.

At the onset of the reception, H.E. Mr. Al-Otaibi appreciated the participants to the gathering, and went on to emphasize the importance and necessity to encourage the Arab-African joint work for the benefit of both regions and their peoples, as both regions enjoy common characteristics including the geographical overlap, the rich heritage and the huge population amounting to 1.2 billion, intermingling with each other.

These traits make it imperative on both sides to think and communicate in a single language within the framework of their mutual interests, Ambassador Al-Otaibi highlighted and continued that hosting the Summit also reflects the principles of the State of Kuwait’s foreign policy which is based on the civilized dialogue and cooperation with all nations in order to achieve the progress, prosperity and the decent living of all mankind in peace.

The floor was then opened to H.E. Mr. Stuart Harold Comerbach, Ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in Tokyo. H.E. Mr. Comerbach launched his speech with appreciation to the State of Kuwait that hosted the latest Africa Arab Summit with great success and lauded the fresh commitment of the State of Kuwait to its dear partners in Africa and Arab regions, announced at the opening speech of the Summit by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, pledging 2 Billion USD to African countries, in a way of translating the theme of the summit “Partners in Development and Investment” into deeds.

Ambassador Comerbach stressed that the summit should be a turning point and course of the relations between Africa and Arab countries and commended that this gathering is the great opportunity to exchange the points of views among the Ambassadors to draw out means and ways to mazimize the result of the summit.

Then the floor welcomed H.E. Mr. Waleed Siam, Ambassador of Palestine and Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps in Tokyo. H.E. Mr. Siam appreciated the initiatives of the State of Kuwait during the Summit and congratulated Kuwait for its great success. On behalf of the Arab diplomatic corps in Tokyo, Ambassador Siam appreciated this gathering as a unique opportunity and expressed his keenness to enhance mutual relations among the Arab and African countries.

Then the floor was opened to Mr. Hiroshi Oka, Deputy Director General of the Middle East and African Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Representing the Government of Japan, Mr. Oka expressed his gratitude and congratulations to the State of Kuwait for successful hosting of the Third Africa Arab Summit in Kuwait City, and noted that Japan continues to be the strong partner and friend of the countries of the regions.

In return to the precious remarks made by the three speakers representing African, Arab countries and Japan respectively, lauding the latest achievement made by the State of Kuwait observing the Summit, Ambassador Al-Otaibi gave each of them the memorial gift from the State of Kuwait.

H.E. Mr. Abdul Rahman Humood Al-Otaibi, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait (middle), H.E. Mr. Stuart Harold Comerbach, Ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps (left) and H.E. Mr. Waleed Siam, Ambassador of Palestine and Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps (right)

Then Mr. Mohammad Alothman, Third Secretary of the Embassy of the State of Kuwait made a briefing on the result of the summit. According to him around 71 nations participated in this Summit that is considered to be the first to focus on economic issues solely and far from discussing political issues. The Summit also adopted the Kuwait Declaration voicing the collective desire to promote cooperation in the political, economic and socio-cultural fields.

As a host of the reception, H.E. Mr. Al-Otaibi looked back the gathering and commented that today’s meeting might be the first to gather Ambassadors of the Arab and African nations in Tokyo. This should be a unique opportunity to strengthen cooperation among the Arab and African counties and to further encourage the exchange of viewpoints in order to achieve our common interests especially being in Japan, a friendly country to all, generous in its unlimited cooperation with both African and Arab nations.