Date : 04/07/2013
BAGHDAD, July 4 (KUNA) -- The Iraqi parliament on Thursday endorsed an
agreement on cooperation between the governments of Iraq and Kuwait.
The document, inked here on April 29, 2012, provides for launching an
inter-government committee to facilitate cooperation in various fields; it
takes effect as of the publication of today's parliament decree in the
official gazette.
The planned committee will be tasked with solving the bilateral issues
according to relevant international conventions with a view to building a firm
ground for friendly ties, according to an Iraqi parliament statement received
by KUNA.
Later on, the parliament debated a draft decree to endorse an agreement on
maritime navigation in Khor Abdullah waterway between Iraq and Kuwait, and
Iraq's recent exit from the obligations under Charter VII of the UN Charter.
The debate gathered Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Minister of
Transport Hadi Al-Ameri.
Zebari affirmed that the recent UN Security Council resolution on the
Charter VII obligations was historic development since the country inherited
"heavy burdens" from the former regime.
"The UNSC imposed sanctions on Iraq, as a country not a regime, in 92
resolutions under Charter VII as a result of the invasion of Kuwait in 1990,"
he pointed out.
"On last June 27 the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon tabled to the UNSC a
report setting forth the progress made by Iraq and Kuwait in settling
long-standing disputes such as the border markers, the Kuwait MIAs and lost
property, the oil-for-food program, and the compensations to Kuwait," Zebari
said.
He added that the former regime approved the existing border demarcation
approved by the UNSC in 1993, noting that the incumbent government only
maintains the border marks.
Meanwhile, Al-Ameri said the demarcation of the borderlines in Khor
Abdullah waterway ensured free access for Iraq to navigation in, and joint
management of, the waterway.
He and Zebari answered questions raised by several MPs on the bilateral
ties with Kuwait and the recent UNSC resolution.
During his visit to Kuwait on May 27, 2013, Zebari signed two MoUs with his
Kuwaiti peer Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah on the maintenance of the border
marks and the funding for a housing project in Um Qasr city, south Iraq.
The two countries also signed six MoUs on June 2, 2013, on cooperation in
the diplomatic, economic, technical, cultural, educational, air transport and
environmental domains. (end)
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