Day: 14 June 2023

The Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud flew on Wednesday to the French capital on an official visit, according to directives by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, the Royal Court said in a statement.

The statement, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), said the crown prince would meet French President Emmanuel Macron and lead the Kingdom?’s delegation participating in the summit “For a New Global Financial Pact,” scheduled to be held in Paris on June 22-23.

The Crown Prince will also participate in the Kingdom’s official reception for Riyadh’s candidacy to host Expo 2030, due in Paris on June 19.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Sudani voiced Wednesday keenness on having American corporations in the country, adding that Iraq is currently in state of security and political and social stability, qualifying it to become an attractive environment for foreign investments.

This came when Al-Sudani received delegation of US-Iraq business council headed by vice president of Middle East Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Steve Lutes.

Al-Sudani asserted that his country will not remain beholden to oil especially as the world moves away to find substitutes, adding that countries depending on oil must consider preparing for these substitutes, read a governmental statement.

Iraq is in possession of untapped natural resources, mentioned Al-Sudani adding that this along with its strategic location enable it to become an agricultural industrial state.

Al-Sudani also stated that the government considers the private sector a true ally in the quest for achieving visions, finding solutions and reducing the required time.

Iraq, added the Premier, has already begun investments in the gas sector saying that the agreement with TotalEnergies for developing oil fields will ensure Iraq half its gas demand in the upcoming stage, and contracts with Chinese and Emirati companies will guarantee half of Iraq’s gas imports.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri said Wednesday failure to elect a new president fell short of the aspirations of the Lebanese, “Arab brothers and friends of Lebanon.” Berri, in a statement following the fruitless parliamentary session, said “the Lebanese, Arab brothers and Lebanon’s friends have been awaiting a performance and conduct up to the level of Lebanon, the challenges and hazards.” He urged the warring parties to abstain from putting the blame on each others and prolonging “presidential vacuum.” Berri said the aspired speedy election of a new president can only be attained through consensus, dialogue .. “with no shunning or isolating or challenging.” The veteran speaker of the house chaired the 12th session earlier today to vote for electing a president, however the two main contenders failed to garner a sufficient number of the ballots to win the top seat.

The session, attended by 128 MPs in the first round, concluded without any candidates winning the necessary 86 votes, a two thirds majority, while the second session saw the lack of quorum.

Former Minister Jihad Azour won 59 of the votes, former MP and ex-minister of interior Suleiman Frangieh won 51 of the votes. Former minister of interior and lawyer Ziad Baroud won seven votes and commander of the army General Joseph Aoun gained one vote. Nine MPs voted on a paper with the words “new Lebanon” written on.

This is the 12th session since the general elections last September, which had one of its goal to choose a new President in place of Michel Aoun whose Presidency expired on December 31, 2022.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Beijing, China and London, the United Kingdom from June 16-21, the Department of State announced Wednesday.

State Department Spokesperson Mathew Miller said in a statement that while in Beijing, Blinken will meet with senior Chinese officials where he will discuss “the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the US-PRC (People?’s Republic of China) relationship.” The statement added that Blinken will also “raise bilateral issues of concern, global and regional matters and potential cooperation on shared transnational challenges.” In London, Blinken will attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference “to help mobilize international support from the public and private sector to help Ukraine recover from Russia?’s brutal and ongoing attacks.” While there, the US top diplomat will also meet with counterparts from the United Kingdom, Ukraine and other partners and allies, the statement noted.

Meanwhile, Miller said in a separate statement that Blinken spoke on Tuesday with China?’a State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang during which he discussed “the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship to avoid miscalculation and conflict.” The statement added that Blinken also addressed “a range of bilateral and global issues and made clear the US would continue to use diplomatic engagements to raise areas of concern as well as areas of potential cooperation.” Blinken was scheduled to visit China earlier this year but the trip was postponed following the Chinese spy balloon incident.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

The State of Qatar, represented in the Ministry of Culture, hosted the 6th meeting of joint cultural cooperation between the GCC and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in cooperation with the GCC General Secretariat, represented by the Human and Environment Affairs sector – Department of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities.

Members of the cultural committee in Qatar, the rest of the GCC countries, and Jordan participated in the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the 32nd Doha International Book Fair (DIBF). The Ministry of Culture was represented by Director of the Department of Culture and Arts at the Ministry of Culture Maryam Yassin Al Hammadi.

The meeting reviewed the joint committee’s decisions made by high-ranking officials at the GCC and Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs, as well as the decisions of the GCC Ministers of Culture in their 26th meeting regarding the joint cooperation with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Various related topics were also discussed, most notably coordinating stances between the GCC states and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and supporting it in international organizations and forums, coordinating joint cultural cooperation plans during the upcoming period, strengthening and promoting cultural diversification and heritage, and strengthening innovative industries.

Participants in the meeting also discussed the future strategy in support of the joint cultural action.

In the same context, the Ministry of Culture hosted the 5th meeting of joint cultural cooperation between the GCC and the Kingdom of Morocco, in cooperation with the GCC General Secretariat, represented by the Human and Environment Affairs sector – Department of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities.

Members of the cultural committee in Qatar, the rest of the GCC countries, and Morocco participated in the meeting. The meeting reviewed the joint committee’s decisions made by high-ranking officials at the GCC and Kingdom of Morocco’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs, as well as the decisions of the GCC Ministers of Culture in their 26th meeting regarding the joint cooperation with the Kingdom of Morocco.

Various related topics were also discussed, most notably coordinating stances between the GCC states and the Kingdom of Morocco and supporting it in international organizations and forums, coordinating joint cultural cooperation plans during the upcoming period, a draft memorandum of understanding between both sides, strengthening and promoting cultural diversification and heritage, strengthening innovative industries, and exchanging experiences on preserving cultural heritage and protecting it from vanishing.

The meeting also discussed the future strategy in support of the joint cultural action.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The Qatari-Bahraini Follow-up Committee held its third meeting here on Wednesday.

The delegation of the State of Qatar at the meeting was headed by HE Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, whilst the delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain was headed by HE Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain Sheikh Dr. Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.

The meeting discussed the items on the agenda and reviewed the outcomes of the second meeting of the joint legal committee and the joint security committee.

The work of the Qatari-Bahraini Follow-up Committee comes as a continuation of its previous meetings, in an implementation of the Al Ula Declaration and in accordance with the will of the two countries’ leaderships to meet the interests and aspirations of the two brotherly peoples.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC), represented by the Planning, Quality and Innovation Department, has started a government services documentation project to implement of guide for defining and documenting government services and their procedures issued by the Civil Service and Government Development Bureau to facilitate and improve the quality of services it provides to the public.

In this regard, the ministry organized an introductory workshop to discuss the guide issued by Civil Service and Government Development Bureau and reviewed the methodology and work plan during the upcoming period to implement the phases and provisions of the project and adopt and apply best practices in a way that contributes to serving and facilitating the communication process between all the ministry’s agencies and departments and external beneficiaries.

The process of documenting government services aims to improve the experience of beneficiaries and facilitate access to the services provided, in addition to accurately and comprehensively documenting services through a description of the service, conditions, documents required, and standard procedures.

Source: Qatar News Agency