Al-Ghanim: International tour achieved aspired goals

National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim said Thursday he was confident that his first international tour since assuming office was \"successful\" and that it had \"achieved its aspired goals.\" The Kuwaiti parliamentarian, who was elected chief in early August, had held high-level meetings with officials in Jordan and Turkey and attended talks of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva. These visits are \"aimed at making use of the knowledge of other nations on the legislative aspect in producing a practical National Assembly session, where citizens may witness accomplishment,\" he told Kuwait TV in an exclusive interview. Al-Ghanim said he was proud to have heard commending sentiments of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah expressed by the leaders of the countries he had visited. On why he had opted for these nations and not the nearby states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Kuwait is a member, he said that the other five states are \"the closest to our hearts and minds.\" Less than three months ago another Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation headed by MP Ali Al-Rashed had already carried out a visit to these countries, \"that is why it was untimely to carry out the same visit after such a short time.\" His visit to Geneva was to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Union conference, he said, as Kuwait currently heads the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, in addition to the coordinative geopolitical \'Arab group\'. Jordan and Turkey, along with Lebanon and Iraq are the most fundamental nations that have borders with Iraq, and \"assistance for the Syrian people (fleeing the violence in their country) is provided along the Turkish and Jordanian borders (with Syria).\" He also spoke of Jordan\'s strategic in light of the neighbouring conflict, \"especially as it is at the heart of these events, while most Kuwaiti relief goes to Syria via Jordan.\" On his meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, he said \"I was honoured to have met King Abdullah II, who commended HH the Amir and Kuwait\'s support of the Kingdom of Jordan, and our talks also addressed several issues.\" The King of Jordan had affirmed that his country would be providing full care to Kuwaiti college students in Jordan, said Al-Ghanim, who hailed the education system in Jordan and noted its significance to Kuwaitis seeking higher education elsewhere in the Arab world, due to the crises affecting surrounding nations in the region. \"Around 6,000 Kuwaitis currently receive higher education in Jordan, and Kuwait is the number one investor in the country with over USD 10 billion in light of numbers we have received,\" he said. Asked whether the legislative diplomacy he has been carrying out contradicts with the state\'s foreign policies, he said that the two may differ in application, but that \"their goal should not (differ). We should not, being Kuwaiti representatives of either the parliament or government, send out different messages.\" He added that if the parliament were to have \"any criticisms or viewpoints on the state\'s foreign policy we can relay that through constitutional channels.\"  In Turkey, meetings he had held with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan were frank, and Al-Ghanim had delivered a message from the Kuwaiti leadership. Talks focused on the events in Syria and Egypt, along with Turkey\'s relations with Kuwait and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council. Turkish officials were quoted by the Kuwaiti parliament chief as having \"commended the role and capabilities of HH the Amir in bringing the gap between the views of Muslim leaders.\" Kuwaiti foreign policy is hugely associated with the decisions of the wider Gulf Cooperation Council which he said are continuously described as being \"balanced and wise in their approach to bringing viewpoints closer.\" Erdogan was quoted as having spoken of the need for a united stance of Islamic nations - not just Arab - and indicating Turkey\'s heavy influence, importance and successful experience in the region, along with its joint interests with Kuwait. In spite of his busy schedule in the midst of the launch of the upper house, Erdogan had himself arranged for the meeting with the Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation - and this was picked up on by Turkish press, said Al-Ghanim. Talks with Turkish upper house chief Cemil Cicek focused on gaining legislative know-how, whereby the two sides discussed Turkey\'s successful housing experiment, and obstacles it faces along with its proposed solutions. To address the issue, Turkey has managed to attract foreign investors, which include \"huge Kuwaiti firms that have been able to assist in solving the problem of housing in Turkey according to specific mechanisms but cannot do the same in Kuwait, in spite of us (Kuwait) suffering from this problem which is at the top of priorities for the Kuwaiti citizen.\" These Kuwaiti firms, which include Kuwait Finance House, have had the largest share of giant-scale housing projects recently launched by the Turkish government, he added On his meeting with President Abdullah Gul, he said that talks addressed amending certain issues pertaining to the granting of travel permits for Kuwaitis. On the other hand, the Turks expressed their consideration of the situation of Kuwait on this, being a tiny nation that cannot withstand the entry of a large number of incoming visitors. Al-Ghanim described Turkey as \"mighty power\" in the Islamic world, which \"we hope has exceptional relations with the states of the Gulf Countries Council through which we may tackle the \'greater danger\' that threatens us all. \" On Kuwait\'s leading role amongst Arab nations attending the recent Inter-Parliamentary Union talks in Geneva, he said that it was difficult for the geopolitical bloc to reach consensus. \"It was a major challenge for us (reaching a common denominator) because we had a number of issues and topics, but thanks to God and the cooperation of everyone we were able to come out with a united view.\" And despite the outcomes of the meeting, he said, Arab nations did manage to come together on one stance and in one direction. \"This is one of the good and important things that we are proud of.\" Kuwait at the IPU meeting also managed to coordinate Arab applications for vacant positions at the IPU and Arab proposals set forth at the talks. The IPU has managed to gain a growing influence on governments, particularly in democratic nations, he added