Iraqi parliament approves deal on cooperation with Kuwait
04/07/2013 | 10:34 PM | Gulf News
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.
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