KUWAIT CITY, March 14: Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee in the National Assembly MP Saleh Ashour said Thursday the committee has invited Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled to its next meeting Sunday to examine the circumstances behind the recent incident which occurred at the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border.

The State media said Kuwait has expressed its dismay to the United Nations on the lingering tensions near the border between the two countries a decade after the regime of Saddam Hussein was overthrown.

Moreover, Iraqi police sources have protested the crowd behavior which pelted stones at the Iraqi security forces in the border town of Umm Qasr Monday, prompting the security forces to fire in the air to disperse the protesters.

Ashour has called on the Iraqi side “to bear the political and security responsibilities because of the serious impact it can have on the relations between the two countries.”

He has also called for protecting the United Nations team which is overseeing the maintenance work on the borders between the two nations.

He noted there are three border points where maintenance work has not yet been carried out and called on the Iraqi side to ensure security and protection for the UN team until it completes its task in accordance with the United Nations resolutions.

He added that Iraqi Ambassador to Kuwait has been invited for a meeting to hear his point of view following a meeting with Kuwait’s Foreign Minister.

In the same context, Media Department of the National Assembly said the Speaker of the Parliament Ali Al-Rashed and the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah toured the Kuwaiti-Iraqi northern border Thursday to get firsthand information on the preparations made by the Kuwaiti side in relation to security aspect of border guard forces.

They also inspected the situation after the latest incident involving Iraqi demonstrations that disrupted the work of UN border markers maintenance team.

Furthermore, the two leaders listened to the preparedness of the workers on the Kuwaiti side in compliance with the border marked by UN and its implementation to all resolutions in this regard. The two leaders were accompanied by Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmed Hmoud Al-Sabah and senior ministry officials.

The Kuwaiti leaders have said the Iraqi side must bear its responsibility and ensure the border markers team complete their task and comply with the international resolutions in this regard.

Meanwhile, the Financial and Economic Affairs and Foreign Affairs committees of the National Assembly met Thursday with Minister of Commerce and Industry Anas Al-Saleh and Dr Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Chief of Kuwait Foreign Investment Bureau. The meeting discussed the bill that encourages direct foreign investment in the country.

MP Safa’a Al-Hashem said the bill will “allow more economic and financial incentives and clear procedures for foreign investments so that investors are reassured and can obtain financial returns easily.”

Meanwhile, MP Abdulrahman Al-Jeeran has called for increasing penalties on violators of traffic laws, particularly the reckless motorists.

“Islamic scholars say it is forbidden to be partial to those who disregard the lives of others and that the punishment should be applied to set an example for others and rid the society of this evil,” he stated.
MP Khaled Al-Adwa has proposed the employment of retired Kuwaitis (men and women) as guards and security supervisors in government institutions.