The delegation was headed by Kuwait Journalists’ Association (KJA) President Ahmad Behbehani. First deputy speaker of Iraq, Qusai Al-Suhail, was also present in the meeting.
Al-Nujaifi said the media in the past was affiliated to one faction and one party and only worked within those confines but since 2003, there has been an opening of the media that has contributed to the democratic transformation and brought out certain aberrations in the system.
He also spoke about the importance of Iraq’s role in the region and how a stable Iraq was important for taking the Iraq-Kuwait ties to a new level. He said the seemingly intractable problems would be resolved in a spirit of total cooperation, especially because the government intends to close all cases and restore normalcy.
He said it was time for both the countries to embark on a quest for fraternal relations built on peace and stability that give hope to our future generations that there would be no more differences and wars. He said Kuwait was clearly ahead of Iraq in the matter of ushering in democracy and still respecting the establishment.
Kuwait is one of the distinguished countries in the region that relied on democratic mechanism to run the country, had a constitution since 1961 and a continuous National Assembly.
He said, “Of course, there are obstacles but you have distinguished yourself with a democratic reality ahead of other powers in the region.” He said that Iraq saw a huge change after 2003, and now there was a movement to build a democratic system, draft a constitution and effect many changes.
He said Iraq faced many obstacles because of military occupation, military-oriented agenda and a foreign administration that wanted to lead the country into a direction that was not in tune with the country’s history and its nature.
He said, “We now rely on the constitution as a reference for everything, and are building a democracy that we will be proud of.” He called for cooperation between the two sides to resolve any problem, adding, “We need the cooperation of our brothers in Kuwait in order to put the past behind us, and have both play a major role in the region.”
He said the issue of the Airlines was solved two days ago, while the issues related to borders and water are under discussion. “I believe that the UN Secretary General’s visit may help in this regard, and we are pushing for that.” Al-Nujaifi said that statements by some MPs in regard to relations with Kuwait represent their own opinions, as a parliamentary system allows for freedom of opinion and expression and it was not possible to force everyone to adopt the same policy.
Meanwhile, First Deputy Speaker Qusai Al-Suhail spoke about Iraq’s National Assembly’s interest in improving relations with Kuwait. He referred to a delegation of 27 Iraqi MPs sent to Kuwait and said that reflected the respect that Iraqi Parliament accords Kuwait. He said the visit amounted to recognition of Kuwait’s sovereignty.
Stressing the importance of the role of information in strengthening mutual ties between Kuwaiti and Iraqi people, he said it was time to move in a pragmatic manner to improve bilateral relations, and called for joint media efforts by designating certain hours for joint TV broadcasts publishing a monthly or seasonal newspaper to which media persons from both countries can contribute.
Meanwhile, members of the Kuwait information delegation expressed their pleasure about the Iraq visit and the hospitality they received, and emphasized that they were keen on strengthening relations between the two countries in all fields.
The Kuwait Media delegation included: President of KJA Ahmad Behbehani, Al-Anbaa Editor-in-Chief Yousuf Al-Marzouq, Annahar Editor-in-Chief Emad Bukhamseen, KUNA Editor-in-Chief Rashid Al-Ruwaished, Alrai Editor-in-Chief Majid Al-Ali, Kuwait Times Editor-in-Chief Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan, deputy Editor-in- Chief of Yaqza Magazine Dalia Behbehani in addition to KJA manager and coordinator of the visit Adnan Al-Rashid, KJA Board Member Jassim Kamal and Photographer Majid Al-Sabej.
