UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION

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Mr. President,

Mr. President, I thank Ambassador Michael Gaffey, Chairman of the United Nations Compensation Commission, for his valuable briefing. I also welcome the participation of His Excellency Dr. Fouad Baki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq, and Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi, Permanent Representative of Kuwait, in this meeting.

Mr. President,

The Security Council’s adoption of today’s resolution to terminate the work of the United Nations Compensation Commission, which was established under chapter VII of the UN Charter to deal with the damages caused by the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, represents a historic moment under the agenda item “the situation between Iraq and Kuwait”.

We commend the efforts made by Iraq, especially, in spite of the challenges it faces, to pay all of its reparation payments as was decided by the United Nations Compensation Commission, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 687, and other decisions issued by the Board of Directors of the Commission. We also welcome the decision issued by the Board of Directors during the sixteenth special session of the Compensation Commission held this month regarding the completion of its mandate based on the Commission rapporteur’s confirmation that Iraq paid all the required reparation payments.

We also commend Kuwait’s close cooperation with both Iraq and the Compensation Commission on this matter. The efforts made by both countries reflect their sincere desire to conclude this matter and move forward.

We hope to continue building on such positive steps to end all outstanding issues under the agenda item on the situation between Iraq and Kuwait. In particular, we hope to see further progress on the issue of missing Kuwaitis and third-country nationals, as well as the issue of missing Kuwaiti property, including items from the national archives. Here, we value the existing cooperation between the two countries on this issue.

We also reiterate the UAE’s firm position to support the sovereignty and unity of Iraq and Kuwait, and we wish these countries further security, stability, and prosperity to achieve the aspirations of their peoples.

وشكراً، السيد الرئيس.Thank you, Mr. President.