The European Parliament (EP) welcomed on Thursday the initiative by Kuwait Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim on talks between lawmakers from the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

“The (Kuwaiti) Speaker has started an initiative to organize a parliamentary dialogue with the parliaments of the Gulf region on the one hand and the European Parliament,” Foreign Affairs Committee chief David McAllister told reporters alongside the Kuwaiti top lawmaker.

“I had a great conversation with the speaker of the Kuwaiti parliament and I remember very well our visit to Kuwait a couple of years ago and the hospitality that we received,” said McAllister. On the EU’s ties with Kuwait, he said the country is a “crucial partner” when it comes to promoting security, stability and development in the region,” he stressed.

He highlighted the “important role Kuwait plays in trying to negotiate in conflicts, and its “credibly active” contributions in the humanitarian side. The support Kuwait is giving in Syria or in Yemen is very, very important,” said the German MEP.

In a separate meeting, the Chair of European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula, Hannah Neumann, expressed her happiness in meeting Speaker Al-Ghanim in person, saying it was an “extremely productive meeting.

“For us in the EU, we are very happy to have a key partner in the region working for peace and stability in the region,” she stressed.

Neumann said she is looking forward to visit Kuwait at the end of this year for discussions with the Kuwaiti parliament but also to exchange views with many women who are active in politics in Kuwait.

Earlier today after meeting with EP President David Sassoli, Al-Ghanim revealed talks will take place in Kuwait in the near future to “discuss all the concerned issues as well as bilateral relations between the European Parliament and the GCC.” The six-member GCC includes Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Oman.

SOURCE:   TIMES KUWAIT