Kuwait to calm Arab tensions ahead of summit

Kuwait is making vigorous diplomatic efforts among several neighbouring countries to calm the atmosphere in the region ahead of the Arab summit to be hosted in Kuwait City on March 25. The Kuwaiti government is said to have been trying to mend the relationship between Egypt and Qatar, which has been strained since the ousting of Egypt’s elected President Mohamed Morsi in a military coup last July. Morsi was an ally of Qatar. Kuwait is also trying to encourage rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

A Kuwaiti diplomatic source told Reuters on Sunday that Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah visited Cairo and Doha last week. “It is not a brokerage… but efforts are being made by the Kuwaitis to calm the situation before the Arab summit,” claimed the anonymous source. “I do not think we can say that Kuwait is mediating between Qatar and Egypt. It is preparing for the summit.”

Kuwait’s Al-Qabas newspaper gave details on Sunday of the oil-rich state’s mediation between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The recent visit by the speaker of the Kuwaiti parliament, Marzouk Al-Ghanem, to Tehran had achieved important results, it claimed. Kuwaiti efforts are now focused on a general acceptance of Iran across the region following the optimism of the agreement reached over Tehran’s nuclear development programme. Kuwait, said Al-Qabas, is aiming to “create a conciliatory atmosphere in the region”.

The speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, urged Kuwait in February to build bridges between Iran and Saudi Arabia and encourage a rapprochement between the two. Kuwait enjoys strong relations with both countries.