Dabbagh Denies “inaccurate statement” in Kuwaiti newspaper

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The State Minister and Spokesman of the Iraqi government Ali Al-Dabbagh announced today that the Kuwait Al-Siyasa Daily “cut off ” his statement on the Kuwaiti Mubarak terminal, stating that the Iraqi government will send a delegation from the Iraqi Foreign and Transport ministries, in cooperation with the United Nations, to carry out a field investigation to consider the details of establishing this port.  “The statements reported by the Kuwaiti newspaper were not accurate, and were edited,” he clarified to IraqiNews.com.  “I contacted the newspaper which will publish a corrected version of my statement,” he added.  “Any project taken on by a regional state, including Kuwait, should not damage the interest of Iraq and its maritime rights,” Dabbagh pointed out.   Dabbagh stated to the Kuwaiti newspaper on 11 May that there is no Iraqi objection to establishing Mobarak port. Kuwait placed the port’s cornerstone a few weeks ago.  “Each state has the right to impose its sovereignty on its soil, thus nothing can prevent Kuwait from building anything suitable on its soil and territorial waters,” Dabbagh highlighted.  Different reactions met Dabbagh’s statement, some described it as “irresponsible,” others demanded his “demotion,” while a third group said it was his “personal” opinion.  Last April, Kuwait announced the beginning of the work in Mobarak terminal, one year after Iraq announcement intentions to build the Greater Fao Port.   Iraqi basic designs note that the port will have a 39 km pier for containers, and a container yard totalling 2 million square meters, with a total capacity of 99 million tons per year.  The total cost of the project is expected to reach 4.4 billion Euros.  It is expected that this terminal will connect Iraqi ports with Europe, via Turkey, with a railway line. RM (TI)/SR 438