DUBAI: Foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, and the UK Secretary of State James Cleverly, have jointly called upon Iraq to complete the crucial demarcation of maritime borders between Kuwait and Iraq.
In a synchronized and unequivocal message, the officials have urged Iraq to uphold international agreements, with particular emphasis on the demarcation of borders shared with Kuwait. This unified stance was articulated in a joint statement issued on Friday following discussions between Secretary Cleverly and GCC Secretary-General James Al-Budawi on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York.
The statement underscores the paramount importance of Iraq’s commitment to safeguarding Kuwait’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It comes against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Kuwait and Iraq, triggered by a recent decision by the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court. The court, earlier this month, ruled that an agreement governing navigation in the Khor Abdullah waterway was unconstitutional. It asserted that the legislation endorsing the accord should have received approval from two-thirds of Iraq’s Parliament.
Demarcation of Kuwaiti-Iraqi Maritime Borders
Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, has discussed with United Nations officials and Western diplomats concerning the latest verdict by the Iraqi Supreme Court regarding Khor Abdullah.
During his recent meetings, Sheikh Jarrah held talks with Germany’s Minister of State Tobias Lindner, the UK Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and the UN, Baron Tariq Ahmad, as well as the EU Deputy Secretary-General Enrique Mora.
The terrestrial border between Kuwait and Iraq was delineated by the United Nations in 1993, following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. However, the maritime boundaries between the two neighboring oil-producing nations remained unresolved and were left for the two countries to negotiate.
An agreement pertaining to these maritime borders was eventually reached in 2012 and subsequently ratified by the legislative bodies of both Kuwait and Iraq in 2013.
![NEW YORK: Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leading Pakistan’s high-level parliamentary delegation, on Tuesday warned that India's aggressive actions pose a serious threat to peace in South Asia and urged the international community to take note of India's aggressive conduct. Bilawal was addressing a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on recent regional developments after the military conflict between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani delegation is in New York to present Pakistan’s stance on the military escalation with India and to challenge New Delhi’s narrative at the global level. The visit is part of Pakistan’s sustained diplomatic outreach to brief key UN stakeholders on the alarming regional situation. The Pakistani delegation is also scheduled to arrive in Washington today, where it plans to engage with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, other senior officials, lawmakers, and think tanks till June 6. The team will also visit London and Brussels. Speaking at the press conference, Bilawal said that he wanted to use the opportunity to share Pakistan’s perspective on the recent military conflict with India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and the way forward. Bilawal said that the “illegal strikes” launched by India as part of its ‘Operation Sindoor’ were “in violation of the UN Charter, international law”. He said the attacks had targeted civilian infrastructure, places of worship, energy infrastructure and innocent women and children. He said India had used the April 22 terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam as a pretext to launch the attack inside Pakistan. Following the Pahalgam incident, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered publicly to India that Pakistan was ready to be part of any impartial international investigation into this attack. “We did so because we were confident, our hands were clean and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. “We expressed our sympathy with the victims of terrorism and Pakistan has consistently and unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said, adding that PM Sharif had immediately expressed Pakistan’s willingness to India and the global community to be part of any impartial international investigation. “Indian government refused Pakistan's offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes. Pakistan only then acted in self-defence, we never initiated any violence against India,” Bilawal said. Bilawal emphasised that Pakistan never initiated hostilities against India but responded to Indian aggression by downing six Indian fighter jets. "The Pakistani military had responded with precision the night of the first Indian attack and only targeted and downed six planes because we believed those were the ones to release their load on Pakistan”. He stated that US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio played a vital role in achieving a ceasefire during heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours. “We’ve seen during the course of this conflict how quickly the escalation ladder between our two countries rose and the concern is that the next time there is such an incident, there may not be time for the international community to intervene before things get a lot worse. That is why it is absolutely important for Pakistan and the international community to continue to pursue dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable path to peace.” He said Pakistan’s position was to hold a “comprehensive dialogue” with India that would include the issue of terrorism as well. The head of the Pakistani delegation said that no civilized nation can support the use of water as a weapon and urged the international community to play its part, questioning, "What would be the global reaction if someone’s lifeline was cut off?" He stressed that Pakistan has paid a heavy price in the fight against terrorism and has suffered the most. “The single largest number of terrorist attacks that take place in any one country is Pakistan. The single largest number of victims of terrorism is Pakistan. I myself have suffered at the hands of terrorists. My mother [Benazir Bhutto] was assassinated by the terrorists.” Bilawal also criticised India for targeting water reservoirs and civilian areas, including mosques, during its attacks. Calling negotiations the only path to peace, Bilawal reiterated that the unresolved Kashmir dispute remains the root cause of regional instability. He urged the global community to take notice of India’s aggressive conduct.](https://wenewsenglish.com/storage/2025/06/Bilawal-Bhutto-Zardari-300x180.jpg)
