Kuwait ambassador underscores relevance of Non-Aligned Movement

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ambassador of Kuwait to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and ASEAN, Khalid Jassim Al-Yassin, said the spirit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) remains relevant amidst current geopolitical turmoil.

According to him, nations worldwide currently need to strengthen cooperation and multilateralism, as reflected in the Bandung Spirit, which emerged from the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung, West Java, in 1955.

"We do not need polarization in today's world affairs.

We need to encourage more cooperation instead of forming alliances that would try to create obstacles for each other. We need to encourage more cooperation, more materialism. This is what we need," he conveyed at the ANTARA Heritage Center in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He addressed that his country has been practicing these non-aligned values for years.

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Kuwait, located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, has established strong relations with the United States (US), following Washington's major role in the Liberation of Kuwait in 1991.

However, Al-Yassin mentioned that China has been Kuwait's main trading partner over the past decade. He also pointed out that Kuwait was the first country in the Persian Gulf to establish ties with the Soviet Union in the early 1970s.

"We do not want to be anyone's enemy. We try to focus on how we can cooperate and settle on how we can. We try to think about similarities, common values, instead of things that would differentiate us from others," he emphasized.

He conveyed that the Non-Aligned Movement is a cornerstone of Kuwait's foreign policy, under which the country avoids forming blocs or aligning with one side against another.

Al-Yassin said that his government always upholds the United Nations Charter and complies with all applicable international laws.

"Another major principle is non-interference in the affairs of independent countries. We do not tell any country how to run their own countries," he concluded.

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Translator: Uyu Septiyati, Resinta Sulistiyandari

Editor: Martha Herlinawati Simanjuntak

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