Iraq hands over new batch of looted archives to Kuwait
KUWAIT: Iraqi Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Hazem Al-Youssefi (center) attends a ceremony held yesterday at Saud Al-Nasser Al-Sabah Diplomatic Institute to celebrate handing back state TV and radio archives to Kuwait. —KUNA
Kuwait city (IraqiNews.com) – An Iraqi Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday that his country handed over to Kuwait 42,000 books belonging to Kuwait National Library and Kuwait University.
These books, recently found in Iraq, were “seized” by troops of the former Iraqi regime during Kuwait’s occupation in 1990, KUNA quoted Iraqi Foreign Undersecretary Ambassador Hazem al-Yousefi as saying in a press statement to journalists on the sidelines of the delivery ceremony.
Iraqi authorities are seeking to close file of the Kuwaiti properties in Iraq before the year-end, said al-Yousefi, adding that the competent authorities were waiting for a decision in this respect by Prime Minister Adel Abdulmahdi.
Moreover, Iraq is exerting tremendous efforts to close the file of the missing Kuwaitis, the Iraqi undersecretary stated, reconfirming that the intensive efforts led to the recent discovery of the mass grave in Al-Samawa desert, containing remains of 46 human bodies; 32 of whom were recognized as deceased Kuwaitis.
Al-Yousefi has affirmed that the Iraqi government is serious about the efforts to close all pending files “caused by the former regime.”
Stressing the depth of the ties between the two brotherly countries, the Iraqi official referred to the reciprocal visits by senior officials of the two countries as a prelude to a new period of relations, joint investments and mutual cooperation.
For his part, Kuwaiti Assistant Foreign Minister for International Organizations’ Affairs Counsellor Abdulaziz Al-Jarallah confirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had received 800 boxes containing 42,000 books from the Iraqi side.
“The books belong to the national library and Kuwait University,” Al-Jarallah said, adding that he discussed with the Iraqi undersecretary the issue of Kuwaiti prisoners and missing persons as a humanitarian cause that concerns all Kuwaitis.
“The Kuwaiti government represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior Affairs would spare no effort to close this file and determine destiny of all those who have gone missing,” he confirmed.
Al-Jarallah expressed gratitude to the United Nations for sponsoring the handover, in line with the Security Council Resolution 2107 (issued in the year 2013) that partially mentions the necessity of bringing back the Kuwaiti properties, looted during the invasion.