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April 9, 2004 |
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***** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, has sent a cable of congratulations to Senegal's President Abdullah Wad on his country's Independence Day. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished good health to the president and progress and prosperity for the people of Senegal. The King lauded good relations between the two countries and peoples. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has agreed on the implementation of four rules before the start of investigations. The rules stress the importance of studying the case in detail and complete all relevant papers, the second rule stresses the importance of determining points to be researched and witnesses to be heard while including these details in a primary report. The third rule stresses the importance of addressing the authorities in the area where the suspect lives. The fourth rule stresses the importance to provide all participants in the committee concerned with a copy of the report to be studied within a week and returned after being signed. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz has approved to assist Anti-Malaria program in Yemen with the provision of a number of cars and equipments that could be utilized for this program. Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Ibn Abdullah Al-Mane' said that King Fahd's approval comes in the framework of supporting Yemen in its efforts to combat malaria and to enhance the Kingdom's efforts in protecting Saudi-Yemeni borders to eradicate this disease. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of condolences to Bahrain's King Hamad Ibn Isa Al Khalifa on the death of Sheikh Ahmed Ibn Mohammed Al Khalifa. King Fahd expressed his warmest condolences to Bahrain's King, his family and Sheikh Ahmed 's family. Similar cables were also sent by Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, and Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. A royal decree has approved the results reached by a committee formed upon an order by Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Interior to investigate a fire in Haer Penitentiary in Riyadh on 18/7/1424H which led to the suffocation and death of 68 inmates of Saudis and other nationalities. The Committee concluded that the fire was intentionally set ablaze by inmate Saeed Fuhaid Al-Sbaiee who will be referred to a religious court. An official source at the Ministry of Interior said that a number of the penitentiary's administrative officials and guards were found guilty of negligence and slackness in implementing evacuation plans and safety rules. The source added that the director of jails in Riyadh Region was relieved of his post due to his weak supervision and follow-up and that other officials will be tried and punished. The source noted that an amount of SR 100,000 will be disbursed for each inheritor of the deceased inmates. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received the Austrian ambassador to the kingdom Harald Viesner. The Austrian ambassador bade farewell to Prince Sultan on the occasion of the end of his term as ambassador of his country to the kingdom. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received at the Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh the Arab Ministers of Justice of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman who where in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to attend the Judicial Symposium organized by the Saudi Ministry of Justice. The reception was attended by Prince Miteb Ibn Abdul Aziz, Minister of Rural and Urban Affairs the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and a number of high-ranking personalities. Lt. Gen. Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Fahd Al-Faisal has been appointed commander of the Air Force. He replaces Lt. Gen. Abdul Aziz Henaidi, who retires."Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Al-Faisal has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and appointed commander of the Air Force," said a decree by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz . Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense And Aviation, later received Lt. Gen. Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Fahd Al-Faisal and confirmed Prince Abdul Rahman in his new rank. He also thanked Gen. Henaidi for his efforts in the service of the country. Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs, also received Lt. Gen. Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Fahd Al-Faisal and confirmed Prince Abdul Rahman in his new rank. He also thanked Gen. Henaidi for his efforts in the service of the country. The Prince opened the exhibition of military equipment held by Infantry Corps Command. Upon arrival, he was received by Vice Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sultan in Ady Al-Mutairi. Then he was briefed on the equipment presented by international companies and the methods of their manufacturing. The Ministry of the Interior has issued its instructions for citizens not to leave their Identity cards with service providers as it has been noticed lately that many service providers ask for the citizens IDs and sometimes keep them until they receive their payment. The Ministry has stressed the importance of not handing over their IDs and to hand over a copy of it if necessary. Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, Minister of the Interior has sent a cable of thanks to Prince Mishaal Ibn Saud Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Najran region for the development achieved in the area in the fields of education, health, water, electricity and municipalities. Prince Naif thanked the Governor of Najran and all officials and citizens who took part in the implementation of the project. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has presented Djibouti with 100 tons of Dates to be distributed to the poor and needy. The aid was delivered by a representative of the Saudi embassy to Djibouti during a celebration on this occasion. In a key address, the Secretary General of Djiboutian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation thanked the Kingdom's government for the support it always renders to his country. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has presented Eithrea with 100 tons of Dates to be distributed to the poor and needy. The aid was delivered by a representative of the Saudi embassy to Djibouti during a celebration on this occasion. In a key address, the Ambassador of Erithrea Nasser Mohammed Al Rushaydan thanked the Kingdom's government for the support it always renders to his country. Directed by Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, Prince Lt. General Fahd Ibn Abdullah Ibn Mohammad, Commander of the Naval Forces, received and hoisted the Saudi flag over His Majesty's ship "Makkah" which is the second vessel in Alsawari 2 naval project. A ceremony on the occasion was held in the French naval base in the city of Toulon, France. The ship Makkah is one of the most modern frigates having a new design which enjoys the highest reduction percentage of radar detection. It is designed to undertake various tasks in turbulent sea conditions. The frigate is equipped with various anti- aircraft, ship and submarine missiles and other advanced weapons of various kinds. The Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Hashim Ibn Abdullah Yamani who is also Chairman of the Negotiating Delegation of the Kingdom's accession to the World Trade Organization met with China's Assistant Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the Chinese Delegation to the Organization Yi Chiao Chon. Following the meeting, the two sides signed a bilateral agreement on offers of commodities and services submitted by the Kingdom within the framework of its efforts to join the Organization. On this occasion Dr. Yamani expressed his appreciation of China for supporting the Kingdom's desire to join the Organization. He pointed out that the Kingdom has signed 31 bilateral agreements with members of the Organization and will sign four agreements with other members during the coming weeks. The Council of King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals has agreed on the establishment of the Saudi Scientific Society for Remote Sensing. The Council has also agreed in its thirds session under the chairmanship of the Deputy Director of the University Dr Khalid Al-Sultan to modify the MSc educational programme in computer studies, while it recommended the endorsement of the cooperation in the technical field between the University and the international company WEBRO by the Higher Council for Education. The Council has also to ask the Higher Council for Education to endorse the Memorandum of co-operation between King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals and Cranfield in the United Kingdom. The Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al Hariri returned to Beirut after an official trip to Armenia. During this visit Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri described the situation in the region as difficult and complicated, but said a solution is not impossible if there is a true intention to implement international law and UN Security Council resolutions. Mr. Hariri was speaking in Armenia, on the first day of his official visit to the country. He said Israel's occupation of Palestinian land could lead to an explosion in the Middle East and peace can only be reached through the implementation of UN resolutions. The Prime Minister also praised Lebanese-Armenian ties and hailed the role that Lebanese citizens of Armenian origin have been playing in the country. Mr. Hariri held talks upon arrival in Yerevan with his Armenian counterpart Antrenig Margarian. They later co-chaired a meeting of the Joint Armenian-Lebanese Committee that was attended by officials from both countries. The Prime Minister also met the Vice President of Armenia's Parliament Tigran Torosian, who stressed that both countries enjoy strong ties and should work to remove all obstacles that have been preventing the implementation of previously-reached accords. For his part, Mr. Hariri pointed out that Lebanese of Armenian origin did not take part in the country's civil war but helped develop Lebanon at the end of the war. He said the community is represented in the Lebanese government and Parliament. He also called on the private sector to help boost Lebanese-Armenian economic ties. Addressing regional developments, the Prime Minister made clear that Lebanon enjoys good relations with all countries of the world, but does not have ties with Israel due to its occupation of Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian land. He added that Lebanon like all the Arabs are ready for "all possibilitie" if Israel implements international resolutions. U.S. President George W. Bush vowed "never to be intimidated" or retreat from Iraq, after the murder and mutilation of four U.S. contractors raised new questions about the U.S.-led occupation. Although he has not commented directly on the killings or the images flashed worldwide of charred bodies hanging from a bridge, Bush reiterated his long-standing vow that Iraqi insurgents would fail to derail Iraq's democratic transition. "They're trying to shake our will. But they don't understand this country. We will never be intimidated," Bush said during a visit to a community college. "This country will stay the course," he said. President Bashar Al-Assad reviewed with Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Rudolf Bot what the Syria - EU negotiations on association agreement have reached to. In a meeting with the visiting FM of Netherlands, President Assad discussed bilateral relations between Syria and Netherlands and cooperation in various domains. Talks also dealt with the subject of peace in the Middle East and Syria stressed main lines of her policy in this respect. Discussions also touched upon conditions in Iraq and Syria's efforts to aid the Iraqis in strengthening their national unity and restoring stability and independence. The Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot stressed the necessity of reaching a Syrian-European partnership Association due to its important role in enhancing and strengthening the bilateral relations in all domains .In statements to reporters, Bot expressed his confidence that both sides will reach an agreement and sign the European-Syrian Partnership Association as soon as possible. He added that Europe realizes the importance of the association for both Syria and Europe. Security Authorities have encircled a quarter in Makkah Al Mukkaramah where they ceased a number of suspected cars and indecent video tapes. The security forces had attacked Al Mansour quarter under the leadership of Brigadier General Alabi Al Barakati and arrested a number of African wanted. The authorities also discovered a house in which one of the wanted in a killing case lives. The European Parliament said it was illegal for the United States to force European airlines to provide data on arriving passengers and threatened to go to court to block an agreement that calls for the information sharing. The vote came a day after European Union ministers overcame similar privacy concerns and agreed to give their own law enforcement authorities access to more limited passenger data. To combat terrorism, Washington has demanded airlines headed for the United States transmit extensive passenger information from credit card numbers to meal preferences within 15 minutes of departure. Noncompliance can be punished with fines of up to $6,000 a passenger and the loss of landing rights. Airlines, caught between having to satisfy U.S. demands and EU privacy law, have been operating under interim arrangements while negotiations were underway. The agreement reached last December is less than Washington initially sought as far as the amount of data that can be collected, who can see it and how long it can be stored. But the Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, France, voted 229 to 202 for a nonbinding resolution calling on the European Commission, which negotiated on behalf of the EU, to demand a better deal. The resolution said there is no legal basis for supplying commercially gathered data for "public security purposes." "Such access is illegal under member state and EU privacy laws," the resolution said, adding Parliament reserved the right to mount a legal challenge at the European Court of Justice if the agreement is adopted by the full Commission as is. Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said only that the Commission would "reflect on its next steps at a forthcoming meeting," adding there was no deadline. Parliament, however, aims to act before new elections in June, a spokesman said. The last plenary session is May 3-6. Parliament had to be consulted before the agreement is adopted, but cannot block it on its own. Dutch Liberal Johanna Boogerd-Quaak, who drafted the resolution, noted that EU national data protection commissioners concluded in January that the present agreement was still inadequate. "We are not satisfied with the privacy safeguards secured by the Commission, and we now expect them to withdraw their decision and come back with better safeguards," said Boogerd-Quaak. Commission officials have defended the agreement as striking a balance between privacy concerns and the need to combat terrorism. The information to be required from airlines landing in Europe is less extensive than that sought by Washington. The EU measure would be limited to name, date of birth, nationality, passport number and flight information. EU interior and justice ministers rejected moves by France, Sweden and some other EU governments to require the information be wiped from computer records after just 24 hours, allowing countries that want to keep it longer to do so. British Home Office Minister Caroline Flint called the proposed restrictions incompatible with British law and a pledge last week for greater cooperation in tracking terrorists in the wake of the Madrid train bombings. Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell said ministers agreed limiting access to the data to customs or immigration agencies as initially proposed a year ago was no longer sufficient. U.S. government officials praised Saudi Arabia for its commitment to stop terrorism and disrupt terrorist financing networks. They said the Saudi government has undertaken targeted actions against terrorists and terrorist financiers and has adopted long-term regulatory changes. "It is clear that the Saudi government 'gets it' when it comes to terrorism," said State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism Cofer Black. Juan Zarate, deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury Department's Executive Office for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, affirmed that the Saudi government has undertaken targeted actions in pursuing known operatives and terrorist financiers and in isolating and freezing assets of individuals and entities designated as terrorist supporters. He also said that Saudi authorities have undertaken systemic changes aimed at disrupting terrorist financing networks. Specifically, he pointed to new laws governing charities' financial activities, banking regulations aimed at improving transparency in the financial system, and new licensing requirements for money transfer agencies. "Saudi Arabia has taken several steps that greatly enhance the activities of our joint efforts to prevent terrorism financing," he added. He also underscored the challenge of "fully implementing and enforcing the comprehensive measures it has enacted to ensure charities are not abused for terrorist purposes." Prince Bandar Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Saudi Ambassador to the US, met with President George W. Bush. In a statement to the pressmen following the meeting, Prince Bandar said he had conveyed a message from Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, to President Bush on issues pertaining to energy. He noted that Crown Prince Abdullah and President Bush do believe that high prices of energy will have an adverse impact on the World economy. 'The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not allow occurrence of shortage in energy supplies', said Prince Bandar noting that the Kingdom proved its policy in this respect last year when the oil production of Venezuela, Nigeria and Iraq fell down. 'We do believe that the price of an oil barrel should range between $22 and $28 as set by OPEC, and specifically we are keen on keeping the price at $25', he elaborated. Prince Bandar pointed out that Crown Prince Abdullah and Bush have agreed to be in contact with each other within the next few weeks to assure that matters are going as desired. The Secretary General of the United Nations Koffi Annan said in an interview in New York with the Italian newspaper Courriere della Serra that "the United Nations' Security Council is being engaged in order to have in Iraq a multinational force under a unified command who would have to collaborate with the government and to contribute to the maintenance of the emergency in the Country". Mr Annan emphasized the great appreciation of the United Nations for the contribution of Italy in the peacekeeping forces. He said " the members of the Security Council are contemplating sending peace keeping force to Iraq. My impression is that they are being engaged for a multinational force, under a unified command, that it would have to collaborate with the sovereign government of Iraq and to contribute to the maintenance of the emergency in the Country. The Omani capital, Muscat, will host the second þ meeting of a committee responsible for assessing the achievements of the Gulf þ þCooperation Council (GCC) over the past 23 years. The session will be held on þ April 13.þ Head of the seventh session for Consultative Board of the GCC Supreme þ Council, Dr. Badr Jassem Al-Yaqoub said in a statement that the committee will þ outline the criteria for assessing the GCC's evolution, as well as a mechanism þ for opinion polls in member states on the performance of Gulf grouping.þ He said that the committee members will present their recommendations on þagenda items agreed on during the first meeting. The UAE and Oman have signed a pipeline agreement to regulate the transmission of natural gas between the two countries. The agreement further confirms Dolphin Energy Ltd (DEL) as owner and operator of the new gas pipeline connecting Oman with Fujairah. This accord signifies the first occasion that a cross-border gas transmission agreement has been signed between GCC states, and strengthens the economic relations between the two countries, according to a statement from Dolphin. The agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi by Sheikh Hamdan Ibn Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Chairman of DEL, and Maqbool Ibn Ali Sultan, Oman's Minister of Commerce and Industry, as well as chairman of Oman Oil Co. In January 2004, DEL began to supply up to 135 million cubic feet of gas per day from Oman to the Union Water and Electricity Co (UWEC) in Fujairah. This gas is the main energy source for UWEC's 656 megawatt power station and 100 million gallons a day desalination plant. To meet UWEC's requirements, Dolphin has constructed a 182-kilometer, 24-inch pipeline which crosses desert and mountainous areas belonging to both Oman and the UAE. This connects the border tie-in with Oman's gas pipeline near Al Ain to Qidfa on the east coast. The gas supplies from Oman to UWEC will subsequently be replaced by Dolphin Gas from Qatar. The border connection can thereafter be used to supply Qatari gas to Oman as required. Oman and GIC set up $20m company The Oman government and the Gulf Investment Corp (GIC) have set up a $20 million Oman Investment Co (OIC) to develop new projects and support existing ones, it was reported. "We value our partnership with GIC, which has a long experience of 20 years in the investment field," Commerce and Industry Minister Maqbool Ibn Ali Sultan was quoted as saying after signing the accord. The Omani government and GIC have equal stakes in the new company, according to GIC chief executive officer Hisham Abdul Razzaq Al Razzuqi. The health and social committee of Majlis Al Shura held its sixth ordinary meeting of the first sitting in the year 2003-2004 under the chairmanship of Ali Ibn Suleiman Al Shibli, chairman of the committee. The committee discussed main topics which included a request to discuss social insurance with the social development minister, preparing reports on matters which the committee sees important to discuss with the minister such as the efforts and policies exerted by the ministry to support the social insurance budget. The meeting comes after the Majlis has agreed at its fourth session held in the middle of last March to the discussion request forwarded by a number of members of the Majlis on the social security topic. Maqbool Ibn Ali Sultan, Minister of Commerce and Industry of Oman discussed areas of Omani-Tunisian cooperation with Al Sa'adiq bin Mohammed bin Juma'ah, president of Tunisian Club of Exporters, and members of the Tunisian trade mission who are currently on a visit to the Sultanate. In a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA), Maqbool Ibn Ali Sultan said they discussed three potential areas of joint cooperation in the future. The minister said one of these fields was information technology (IT) including incubators and noted that Tunisia boasts considerable IT experience. Also discussed in the meeting according to the Minister, was the possibility of establishing joint ventures in tourism sector given the huge number of tourists, who visit Tunisia annually and creating branches of Omani Fishing Companies to supply Tunisia with fish products. The Minister said trade exchange between the Sultanate and Tunisia was still very low for a number of reasons. Most important among them was Tunisia's proximity to European markets and lack of fast means of transport between the two countries. The Minister expected that trade exchange between the two countries would rise with the implementation of the Greater Arab Free Trade Zone Pact and cancellation of all customs duties between Arab countries. The meeting was attended by the Tunisian ambassador to the Sultanate and officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI). Sheikh Abdullah Ibn Salim Al Rowas, OCCI president and Al Sa'adiq Ibn Mohammed Ibn Juma'ah, president of Tunisian Club of Exporters, signed the minutes of a two-day meeting held at the OCCI within the context of the visit of the Tunisian trade delegation. During the meeting, the two sides expressed their keenness to further enhance bilateral cooperation in various economic fields and set up joint venture and utilise trade and investment opportunities available in both countries. They also explored investment opportunities and areas of joint cooperation, stressing the need to establish trade partnerships and joint tourism, fish manufacturing, ship building and food manufacturing companies. Land Beach, a cruise vessel with 400 passengers on board, arrived from Port Sultan Qaboos on its way to Djibouti in the context of a tour around the world. The tourist ship was received on arrival by folk troupes and the Omani Women's Association took part in the welcoming celebration by exhibiting handicraft. Mohammed Hardhan, public relations director at Salalah Port Services, said on the occasion of the arrival of the vessel, a crafts exhibition was organised jointly by the Tourism Directorate-General and the Omani Women's Association with the purpose of familiarising the ship passengers with local traditional crafts and supporting the association's marketing activities. He added it also served to encourage passing tourists ships to visit the Sultanate's ports. A tour programme for the visitors was also arranged. It included visits to sites of frankincense trees, the heritage museum and popular souqs. Salalah Port received three passenger vessels this year. They included Star Princess with 2,560 passengers, Odina with 1,076 tourists and Astor which left Salalah carrying 444 travellers on board. Amman was careful to deny that Syria is involved in the entry of the two booby trapped car to Jordan via the Syrian lands, by saying "this was not made at the knowledge and responsibility of the Syrian authority," at a time during which Syria expressed its strong regret "over these news and stressed care to maintain Jordan's security." The official spokesman for the Jordanian Government Asmaa al-Khuder said that Amman "highly appreciates Damascus care to preserve Jordan's security " and explained that '"even it is proved that the arrested group and the explosives they have crossed the northern borders from Syria to Jordan, we are confident and sure that was made not at the knowledge of the Syrian authorities." She indicated that al-Ramtha area on the northern borders between Jordan and Syria " includes one official border check point but has a vast area," adding " we have not officially announced from where the two cars had crossed." For its part, the Syrian authorities denied these reports, one Syrian official said that the authorities express" its strong regret" over what was stated by the mass media that two cars filled with explosives entered Jordan through the Syrian borders, and stressed that "Syria is careful to maintain the security of Jordan and Arab brothers the same as its own security," considering that such news are deliberately intending to damage fraternal relations between the two states. The sources stressed that " Syria's national stances always ensures its total rejection to these terrorist acts." House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on news reports that the Bush Administration has blocked thousands of pages of national security documents from the Clinton Administration from being turned over to the 9/11 Commission: "Just this week, President Bush reminded the American people of the crucial task of the 9/11 Commission, and stated that he had directed his staff to cooperate because he 'considered it necessary to gaining a complete picture of the months and years preceding the September 11th attacks.' It is long past time for the President's actions to match his words. "Unfortunately, today, we were reminded that once again the Bush Administration had to be dragged at every step of the way to fully cooperate with the 9/11 Commission. "Failing to provide the Commission with the Clinton Administration's documents is not consistent with the President's promise of cooperation. The White House must immediately stop stalling and it must release these critical documents to the Commission without further delay. "Only with full and open cooperation from the Bush Administration can we provide the American people with the most complete understanding of decisions made before and after the attacks. The families of September 11 and the American people deserve no less." The White House agreed to allow the commission to review thousands of pages of foreign policy and counter-terrorism documents from the Clinton administration. The White House let commission staff review the Clinton papers at the National Archives. A commission official said that staff members had completed their review and that the panel may request some of the documents. Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad þ Al-Sabah and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Jaber þ Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, who were in Washington to attend a ceremony honoring þ þKuwait as a major NON-Nato ally, met with US Vice President, þ þDick Cheney.þ The meeting tackled the situation in Iraq, security in the region, the þMiddle East peace process as well as bilateral issues.þ þSheikh Mohammad met earlier with National Security Advisor, Condoleezza þ Rice and discussed a range of issues including the future strategic þpartnership between the two countries.þ Sheikh Mohammad told reporters after the meeting that his talks with Rice þcovered future cooperation between the two countries after the designation of þKuwait as a major NON-Nato ally by the United States.þ An official ceremony was held at the Pentagon with US þ Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of State Armitage þ attending from the American side with a military parade and full honor þmilitary ceremony in recognition of Kuwait.þ Sheikh Mohammad said that his talks with Rice also tackled global economic þstability and growth.þ |