Turkish prime minister hosts Kuwaiti counterpart

By Mumin Altas

ANKARA

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim hosted his Kuwaiti counterpart in the capital Ankara on Thursday.

Yildirim welcomed Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah with a ceremony ahead of their meeting at Cankaya Palace. One-on-one meeting between the two premiers was followed by delegation-level talks.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci and Prime Ministry Undersecretary Fuat Oktay also attended the meeting.

The two countries signed six agreements on security, civil aviation, communication, youth, economy and finance.

According to a joint statement issued later, both the countries expressed their satisfaction in the level of cooperation they have reached in the fields of economy and investment and agreed to further widen it.

The statement also stressed upon the continuation of the existing business alliance between Turkish and Kuwaiti Defense Ministry.

Turkey and Kuwait also called for the rejection of efforts to link terrorist acts with any religion or culture, emphasizing the importance of combining international efforts to fight terrorism.

They also expressed their concerns over the ongoing crisis in the Gulf Cooperation Council, with Turkey extending its full support to the mediation efforts carried out by Al-Sabah to resolve the crisis.

In early June, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain collectively cut their diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups in the region.

The four states also imposed a blockade on Qatar, demanding that it meet a long list of demands -- including one for the closure of Doha-based broadcaster Al Jazeera -- or face further sanctions.

Qatar, however, has refused to submit, denying charges that it supports terrorism and describing efforts to isolate it as a violation of international law and an infringement on its national sovereignty.