READER COMMENTS

We thank God, because Iraq now has good communications and strong relations with all countries, after ending hostilities between Iraq and all the Arab, Gulf and foreign countries. Iraq now wants to recover by communicating with these countries, and to solve the problems that were caused by the former tyrannical regime in Iraq, which thought that it was immortal. However, this regime has gone to the dunghill of history, as God wanted to take revenge for Iraq upon the symbols of this tyrannical regime. This regime isolated Iraq internationally and severed all relations with the Arab and Gulf States, let alone the countless problems it has caused. Amidst all of this, the poor Iraqi people were the only losers. However, we now want to restore Iraq’s relations with all countries, particularly Kuwait, because our mutual relations were severed a long time ago. Now, we want to strengthen relations with each other and exchange the feelings of love, brotherhood and friendship. We want also to restore and even improve economic and commercial relations, because Iraq now needs to be reconciled with the other countries, in order to improve its conditions and achieve its aspirations.

We call for strengthening relations between Iraq and Kuwait. We must work at creating joint interests between the two sisterly countries, in order to strengthen the confidence of the Kuwaiti government in Iraq and the Iraqis. The government of Iraq is determined to strengthen its relations with the other countries, particularly the countries that were assaulted by the regime of Saddam, which has crushed all the dreams of Iraq and destroyed all relations between Iraq and the Arab and the Gulf countries. Saddam’s regime caused problems and entered into disputes with all parties. That is why Iraq remained deprived of any contact with any sisterly state. Thankfully, the Iraqi government under the leadership of Nouri al-Maliki has corrected all the mistakes that spoiled the relations between the different countries and Iraq. We thank God, because Kuwait started responding positively to Iraqi attempts to restore bilateral relations, despite the incident that happened between the Kuwaiti Coast Guard and some Iraqi fishermen to the north of the Arab Gulf, which resulted in the death of a Kuwaiti and the destruction of an Iraqi boat. We hope that these tragic incidents will not happen in the future, and we call on the two governments to handle things carefully and seriously. The commercial exchange between the two countries will be restored, God willing. We also hope that the Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations will be restored, without the previous problems. This convergence among the Arabs must be supported and encouraged until we become united, despite all difficulties.

Iraq and Kuwait are two countries which have relations in the social, economic, commercial, tourist, agricultural and oil production areas, and there is a commonality in the way that people dress and speak, as well as in the environment and the atmospheres. So I call for strengthening relations between Iraq and Kuwait once again, for a return to what they were previously. There should be constant, stable and fixed contact, so that there is a large movement between the two countries, and the situation is restored to its former level, where the brothers return to their relations again. The ties that bind us are many, and everyone should enhance this step and encourage the two parties to achieve positive results that reform the relations between the parties, through a return to mutual trade between the two countries and opening the way before passengers and tourists coming from Kuwaiti territory in order to strengthen the relationship between the two peoples again. There should be mutual companies and investments for the benefit of the two countries, for the best of both sides, and this will move relations significantly towards positive results. Both countries are similar in everything and close together, as if the two were one country, but separated by the border. So it is better for all to restore relations and to begin effective contributions, so that things will return to normal, God willing. Iraq and Kuwait are two countries with a long history of relations, and the disagreement must be forgotten, and the two countries should start a new stage in order to improve the situation between them. There should be initiatives of improving the situation and restoring ties through continuous visits, as well as trade exchange. What happened must be forgotten, and the two parties should work together in order to achieve positive results and to stop all incitement or planting of discord between the two brotherly countries; and they should have good intentions for the beginning of a better and stronger stage, so we do not witness what happened before, and do not allow the return of terrorists once again.

Iraq today witnesses a new phase of political openness to its Arab neighbors, after getting rid of the former political regime, and with the advent of the new government that manages its affairs in all fields. The biggest testimony to the success of Iraq’s foreign policy and its resumption of the principles of good relations with the neighboring countries is the visit to Iraq by the Kuwaiti delegation, headed by the Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Nasser Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, which ended the suspension of the relations that had lasted for about two decades. The visit took place in order to work together and for a new phase of cooperation to be commenced between the two countries. We, as citizens, demand that the Iraqi and the Kuwaiti governments further strengthen the sisterly relations between the two countries, to resolve all the problems that occurred between them under the former regime. We should also strengthen the mutual ties with Kuwait and achieve the best brotherly relations in order to restore harmony between the two peoples, help them to forget the painful past, refrain from interventions in the internal affairs of the neighboring countries, respect the good-neighbor policy relations, and maintain these good links. On the other hand, the state of Kuwait has to protect Iraq's security and stability, and respect the right of the Iraqi people to choose their national government. In addition, we would like to see an economic partnership between Iraq and Kuwait in the oil fields and the investment that will be in the interest of both countries, and we want these resources to be employed in the development of the country at all levels.

The Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations are the most important relationships, and we demand and call for action to develop and strengthen them in all areas, because these relations are of great importance to the interests of the two brotherly and neighboring countries. We call for extending bridges of relationships and planting trust and cooperation again, solving all kinds of differences and the outstanding issues with Kuwait through repeated visits by officials in both countries. Iraq and Kuwait have great relationships and a broad history of strong ties linking the two brotherly peoples over the years. They are neighbors, they have one nationality, and one religion brings them together. Even in terms of intermarriage, many ties link many of the families of Iraq and Kuwait.

It is necessary to intensify the work seriously in order to strengthen relations with the brotherly state of Kuwait. As a citizen of Iraq, I call for strengthening and developing these relations and bringing them back on track in the interests of the two neighboring countries, especially as Kuwait and its people have suffered a lot, due to the evil policies pursued by the previous regime, which caused great damage to our brothers in Kuwait. We must work to turn the page of the painful past which affected the fraternal relations between the two countries, and begin to work on building bridges of trust and love again with the State of Kuwait, particularly since Iraq has intimate historic ties with the people of Kuwait, because they are our brothers who cannot be passed up, since there are ties that have bound the people of the two countries together over the years.