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Kuwaiti ambassador about to return to Baghdad
17/09/2011 16:44
Baghdad, Sep. 17 (AKnews) - The former ambassador of Kuwait in
Iraq, Ali al-Muamman, announced he will be back in Baghdad within the
next 10 days if he can find a safe headquarter for the embassy.
He
denied reports that he left because of the controversy between Iraq and
Kuwait over the new Mubarak Port that Kuwait wants to build close to
the border.
"I didn't leave Baghdad for political reasons or because of differences about the Mubarak port," Mr Muamman said.
"Neither did Kuwait withdraw its ambassador to create a political crisis as some media have reported," Mr Muamman added.
Mr Muamman left Iraq at the beginning of June when tensions rose between the two countries over Mubarak Port.
Mubarak
port will be built on Boubyan Island in Kuwait, just a few kilometers
away from the site of Iraq’s Al Faw port project, by Korean company
Hyundai. Mubarak Port is projected to reach completion by 2016 at a cost
of $1.1bn and will process 1.8m containers a year by 2015.
Iraq
fears that the construction of the new port will take business away from
their ports and effect fishermen working in the Gulf. According to
economists, Iraq’s main port will lose 60 per cent of its business if
Kuwait goes ahead with its plans.
Historic tensions have been
flared by the announcement. Iraq-Kuwait relations have just started to
normalize after effort to resolve conflicts that arose during Sadddam
Hussein’s time in power.
Baghdad and other Iraqi cities witnessed
protests and anti-Kuwaiti remarks by various politicians. Officials and
activists had called for the closure of the Kuwaiti embassy and
expulsion of their ambassador from Baghdad.
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17/09/2011 16:44
Baghdad, Sep. 17 (AKnews) - The former ambassador of Kuwait in
Iraq, Ali al-Muamman, announced he will be back in Baghdad within the
next 10 days if he can find a safe headquarter for the embassy.
He
denied reports that he left because of the controversy between Iraq and
Kuwait over the new Mubarak Port that Kuwait wants to build close to
the border.
"I didn't leave Baghdad for political reasons or because of differences about the Mubarak port," Mr Muamman said.
"Neither did Kuwait withdraw its ambassador to create a political crisis as some media have reported," Mr Muamman added.
Mr Muamman left Iraq at the beginning of June when tensions rose between the two countries over Mubarak Port.
Mubarak
port will be built on Boubyan Island in Kuwait, just a few kilometers
away from the site of Iraq’s Al Faw port project, by Korean company
Hyundai. Mubarak Port is projected to reach completion by 2016 at a cost
of $1.1bn and will process 1.8m containers a year by 2015.
Iraq
fears that the construction of the new port will take business away from
their ports and effect fishermen working in the Gulf. According to
economists, Iraq’s main port will lose 60 per cent of its business if
Kuwait goes ahead with its plans.
Historic tensions have been
flared by the announcement. Iraq-Kuwait relations have just started to
normalize after effort to resolve conflicts that arose during Sadddam
Hussein’s time in power.
Baghdad and other Iraqi cities witnessed
protests and anti-Kuwaiti remarks by various politicians. Officials and
activists had called for the closure of the Kuwaiti embassy and
expulsion of their ambassador from Baghdad.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
