LOC10:17
07:17 GMT
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 17 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's permanent representative in the UN Ambassador Abdullah al-Murad on Saturday hailed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's expected participation in the Arab Economic, Development and Social Summit in Kuwait on January 19-20.
"We are very pleased and appreciative of the UN Secretary-General's visit to the State of Kuwait for attending the economic summit though he is so busy with very sensitive issues, chiefly Gaza. But, I believe that the Arab economic summit is so important that he would be present in Kuwait," he told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
The UN chief's visit to Kuwait shows his attention to development issues in Arab countries and his appreciation for Kuwait's role, potential and hopes, he said.
Just like other regional and international summits, the Kuwait summit will be overwhelmed by political issues in spite of the fact that the agenda mainly involves Arab economic, health, environmental and educational topics, he added.
The Kuwaiti envoy expected that Ban would discuss with Arab leaders the latest situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli fire for 22 years.
He added that Ban would seize the opportunity of his presence in Kuwait to open a building housing several UN organizations in the country. (end) sj.mt KUNA 171017 Jan 09NNNN