US, GCC call on Iraq to solve maritime border issues with Kuwait
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, attends breakfast with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in New York. Photo: CRAIG RUTTLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the United States called for completing the demarcation of the Kuwaiti-Iraqi maritime borders after a verdict issued by Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court annulled the ratification of the maritime navigation agreement with Kuwait.
The ruling issued by Iraq’s top court earlier in September mentioned that the ratification law of the agreement regulating navigation in the Khor Abdullah waterway is unconstitutional.
The Federal Supreme Court clarified in a statement that the ratification of international treaties and agreements, according to the Iraqi constitution, should be regulated by a law enacted by a two-thirds majority in the Iraqi Parliament.
The agreement, which regulates marine navigation in that canal, was concluded in 2012 and confirmed by the legislative bodies of both countries in 2013.
The GCC and the US released a joint statement after the six GCC foreign ministers met in New York with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the GCC Secretary-General, Jasem Al-Budaiwi, according to Reuters.
The joint statement elaborated that they called for the full demarcation of the Kuwait-Iraq maritime boundary and called on the Iraqi government to quickly resolve the domestic legal status of the 2012 Kuwait-Iraq agreement.
The statement also urged Iraq and the United Nations to put forth all possible efforts to reach a resolution to the issue.
The marine borders between Iraq and Kuwait were left for both countries to choose after the United Nations demarcated the land border between them in 1993 following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
The Khor Abdullah is an estuary located in southern Iraq and northern Kuwait.
The border between both countries divides the lower part of the estuary, but adjacent to the port of Umm Qasr, the estuary becomes entirely Iraqi.
The Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, met last July with his Kuwaiti counterpart, Salem Al-Sabah, in Baghdad, where they emphasized the need to resolve border issues.
Both officials said that their countries will work towards reaching a definitive agreement on the demarcation of their land in addition to the contested maritime area of the Arabian Gulf.