European Parliament Vice President meets Ambassadors of the EU Member States and discusses her official visit in Kuwait

PRESS RELEASE

1 November 2022

European Parliament Vice President meets Ambassadors of the EU Member States and discusses her official visit in Kuwait

The Vice President of the European Parliament Eva Kaili met Ambassadors of EU Member States represented in Kuwait during her official visit on Sunday. The aim of the meeting was to brief them about her discussions with high-level Kuwaiti Government and National Assembly officials including the Speaker of the National Assembly Ahmad Al-Sadoun, Prime Minister H.H. Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Dr. Bader Al-Mulla, Minister of Public Works, Electricity, Water and Renewable Energies Dr. Amani Buqammaz as well as Ambassador Waleed Al-Khobeizi, Acting Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.  

During her visit to the National Assembly, Eva Kaili was received by the Speaker Ahmad Al-Sadoun, the Deputy Speaker Mohammed Al-Mutair and Members of Parliament Dr. Jenan Bushehri and Alya Al-Khalid. Eva Kaili also met with the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Vice President Eva Kaili informed EU Ambassadors about her discussions in Kuwait on how to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas such as people to people contacts, energy transition, research and innovation, economic diversification, investments and education. Eva Kaili also discussed women empowerment and human rights matters with her interlocutors, as well as issues faced by European Union citizens residing in Kuwait.

Eva Kaili briefed EU Ambassadors on the state of play of the Schengen visa waiver for Kuwaiti nationals, which was also a main topic of discussion in her meetings with Kuwaiti officials. Vice President informed that the Schengen visa waiver file in the European Parliament is in the right track. Once the European Parliament votes on the visa waiver, if passed it would have still to be agreed by the Council as per the European Union’s Ordinary Legislative Procedure.

If the visa waiver for Kuwaiti nationals is adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, the European Commission will start negotiations for a visa waiver Agreement with Kuwait to ensure full reciprocity for EU citizens. Visa-free travel to the EU for nationals of Kuwait will start applying once the visa waiver Agreement enters into force.

The visit of European Parliament’s Vice President Eva Kaili strengthens political and inter-parliamentary ties between the European Union and Kuwait, and builds on the successful visit of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula to Kuwait last year.

*ENDS*