In this file photo taken on February 28, 1991, a member of the Kuwaiti resistance raises his rifle and the national flag in celebration as Kuwaiti's filled the streets after US President George Bush's announcement of a cease-fire. AFP
In this file photo taken on February 28, 1991, a member of the Kuwaiti resistance raises his rifle and the national flag in celebration as Kuwaiti's filled the streets after US President George Bush's announcement of a cease-fire. AFP
In this file photo taken on February 28, 1991, a member of the Kuwaiti resistance raises his rifle and the national flag in celebration as Kuwaiti's filled the streets after US President George Bush's announcement of a cease-fire. AFP
In this file photo taken on February 28, 1991, a member of the Kuwaiti resistance raises his rifle and the national flag in celebration as Kuwaiti's filled the streets after US President George Bush's

Rebuilding Iraq-Kuwait relations an ‘evolutionary' process 30 years after invasion


Mina Aldroubi
  • English
  • Arabic

Thirty years after Iraq invaded Kuwait, the rebuilding of relations between the two countries still faces stumbling blocks, diplomats and experts say.

Saddam Hussein’s decision to send in his forces to annex Iraq’s tiny neighbour on August 2, 1990, led to a whole set of unforeseen circumstances for Baghdad.

Nearly seven months later, Iraq forces were chased out by a US-led international coalition, leaving behind a devastated and pillaged the country.

Saddam’s regime was slapped with UN economic sanctions and a $52.4 billion reparations bill for "losses caused by the invasion and occupation of Kuwait”.

Diplomatic ties between Kuwait and Iraq were cut and restored only after Saddam was toppled from power by a US-led invasion in 2003.

Kuwait quietly welcomed the regime change, which contributed to the improvement of relations, said Feisal Al Istrabadi, the first Iraqi ambassador to the UN after the fall of Saddam’s regime.Mr Al Istrabadi said he made a point to pay a courtesy call to the Kuwaiti permanent representative to the UN on his first day in office in 2004.

"We built a good working relationship between the two missions, reflecting that our foreign ministries and chanceries were doing the same. I believe it has been an evolutionary diplomatic process between the two states," Mr Al Istrabadi told The National.

Despite some positive developments in the relationship over the past 17 years, there remains to be a “residuum of mutual lack of full trust”, Mr Al Istrabadi said.

“Kuwait has not played the disruptive role some of Iraq’s neighbours have played, but Kuwait has not particularly contributed positively to Iraq’s post-2003 reconstruction efforts either,” he said.

Other Gulf states, for instance, forgave Iraq’s Saddam-era debts, or substantially forgave them Iraq for invading the neighbouring country, said Mr Al Istrabadi said, who is now the director of the Centre for the Study of the Middle East at Indiana University.

“Kuwait categorically refused to consider even lowering the rate at which Iraq is required [by a UN Security Council mandate] to repay its debts to Kuwait for the 1990 invasion, let alone reducing the underlying debt,” he said.

While Kuwait was adamant about receiving all of the compensation awarded to it by the UN, it embraced the new government in Iraq, said Abbas Kadhim, director of the Iraq Initiative at the Atlantic Council.

"Despite the hard history between the two, the Kuwaitis decided to turn a chapter; it came as a relief to know that Saddam Hussein and the ideology that Kuwait is part of Iraq is gone," Mr Kadhim told The National.

Relations received a major boost with Kuwaiti emir Sheikh Sabah’s visit to Iraq in early 2012.

“The Kuwaiti emir went to attend the Arab Summit in Baghdad which put relations on the right track. Many other heads of state did not show up so he gets credit for crossing the border,” Mr Kadhim said.

Sheikh Sabah, dubbed the “dean of Arab diplomacy” for his efforts to strengthen Kuwait’s relations in the Middle East after the invasion and mediate between other countries, offered to host a donor conference for Iraqi reconstruction in 2018, shortly after Baghdad declared victory over ISIS extremists who had seized almost a third of the country.

Iraq received pledges of $30bn, mostly in credit facilities and investment from allies, but this fell short of the $88bn it said it needed.

“The conference itself did not yield any financial means for Iraq but it was a gesture of goodwill that Iraq appreciated,” Mr Kadhim said.

“It was another good deed that Kuwait has done by the new Iraq.”

Sajad Jiyad, a Baghdad-based analyst, said some issues from the invasion have yet to be resolved.

After the fall of Saddam's regime, Kuwait saw a much friendlier government in Baghdad that it knew was going to establish a positive relationship, he told The National.

“Iraq has addressed some of the key issues that Kuwait was concerned about, specifically what the UN wanted Iraq to commit to on paying down some of the reparations from the war which Iraq has almost completed and paid billions of dollars and the issue of the remains of Kuwaiti prisoners of war or abducted by Iraqi force when they retreated in to Iraq.”

The main outstanding issues between the two states are around border controls, maritime borders, access to fishing and shared oil fields, Mr Jiyad said.

Yet Iraq has addressed some of the key issues that Kuwait was concerned about, Mr Jiyad said, including handing over the remains of Kuwaitis, whether prisoners of war or individuals, abducted by Iraqi forces.

Mr Al Istrabadi said a new source of contention is the new port facility Kuwait is building, which some Iraqi experts say will affect Iraq’s freedom of navigation.

In 2011 Kuwait said it would build Al Mubarak port on the Bubiyan Island that lies to the north of Kuwait at its border with Iraq.

This triggered fears in Baghdad that it would threaten competition that will crowd it out of trade from Europe and the Middle East but may also infringe on Iraqi territory.

Iraq was planning for more than two decades to build a large new deep-water port on the Khawr Abd Allah waterway — opposite Bubiyan island, where Kuwait is building its port.

However, Iraq has no option but to continue to strengthen its relations with the Arab states, especially the Gulf states, he said.

“Over the past 17 years, it has tilted far too much in the direction of Iran, and it must correct course, which I think both the previous prime minister, Haider Al Abadi, and the current prime minister have/are trying to accomplish,” Mr Al Istrabadi said.

“Iraq’s foreign and domestic policy should be the adoption of the old Kemalist slogan: peace at home, peace abroad.”

To accomplish that, Iraq must balance its relations with Turkey, Iran, and the Arab Gulf states, he said.

Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE

Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:

• Buy second hand stuff

 They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.

• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres

 Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.

• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.

Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.

• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home

Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.

57%20Seconds
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2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier

Event info: The tournament in Kuwait is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.

Teams: UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Maldives, Qatar

Friday fixtures: 9.30am (UAE time) - Kuwait v Maldives, Qatar v UAE; 3pm - Saudi Arabia v Bahrain

Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

Coming soon

Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura

When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Akira Back Dubai

Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as,  “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems. 

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

Family reunited

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.

She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.

She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.

The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.

She was held in her native country a year later.

Andor
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US PGA Championship in numbers

Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.

To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.

Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.

4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.

In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.

For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.

Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.

Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.

Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.

10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.

11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.

12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.

13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.

14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.

15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.

16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.

17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.

18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).

While you're here
Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Price, base: Dh1,731,672

Engine: 6.5-litre V12

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm

Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm

Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km

SPECS
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Mobile phone packages comparison
Honeymoonish
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'Cheb%20Khaled'
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UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

THE SPECS

GMC Sierra Denali 1500

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Price: Dh232,500

Pros%20and%20cons%20of%20BNPL
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPros%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EEasy%20to%20use%20and%20require%20less%20rigorous%20credit%20checks%20than%20traditional%20credit%20options%0D%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EOffers%20the%20ability%20to%20spread%20the%20cost%20of%20purchases%20over%20time%2C%20often%20interest-free%0D%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EConvenient%20and%20can%20be%20integrated%20directly%20into%20the%20checkout%20process%2C%20useful%20for%20online%20shopping%0D%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHelps%20facilitate%20cash%20flow%20planning%20when%20used%20wisely%0D%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECons%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThe%20ease%20of%20making%20purchases%20can%20lead%20to%20overspending%20and%20accumulation%20of%20debt%0D%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMissing%20payments%20can%20result%20in%20hefty%20fees%20and%2C%20in%20some%20cases%2C%20high%20interest%20rates%20after%20an%20initial%20interest-free%20period%0D%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EFailure%20to%20make%20payments%20can%20impact%20credit%20score%20negatively%0D%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERefunds%20can%20be%20complicated%20and%20delayed%0D%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ECourtesy%3A%20Carol%20Glynn%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mental%20health%20support%20in%20the%20UAE
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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid