KUWAIT CITY, Sept 16: Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya has revealed ongoing coordination and communication with various European officials to finalize the Schengen visa file. In an exclusive statement to Al-Qabas, Al-Yahya announced efforts to bring the Schengen issue to the agenda at the upcoming Gulf-European summit, which is scheduled to take place in Brussels on October 16.

Al-Yahya also highlighted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been working on alternative solutions until the Schengen process is completed. He mentioned that continuous instructions have been given to ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions, and chargés d'affaires in several European countries to simplify and expedite the issuance of Schengen visas for Kuwaiti citizens.

Regarding his recent visit to Egypt, Al-Yahya confirmed that discussions during his trip focused on various economic and investment opportunities, which are currently under review. He also mentioned that specific work standards for Egyptian employees entering Kuwait had been agreed upon, along with potential cooperation in food security. These discussions took place on the sidelines of the 13th session of the Egyptian-Kuwaiti Joint Committee held in Cairo last week, where only technical agreements were reached.

On the subject of approving the names of new ambassadors, Al-Yahya stated that Kuwait is still awaiting responses from the respective countries regarding the approval of ambassadorial appointments. He noted that no official approvals have been received yet, but once the responses are in and the procedures completed, the names will be announced.