Kuwait on Wednesday rejected an Iraqi government request to stop construction of a port on the Gulf until Iraq receives guarantees that the harbour won’t violate its maritime rights, Worldmaritimenewsreports.
“Work to build the Mubarak al-Kabir Port on Boubyan Island will continue according to plan,” Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry was cited as saying by the official Kuwait News agency.
“Kuwait is surprised by this request that has no legal or logical basis, as the port is being built on Kuwaiti land.”
Iraq sent a delegation to Kuwait in May to try to dissuade its Gulf neighbor from building the port, saying it may threaten the operations of its own planned harbor in the southern region of Basra.
Iraq has said the traffic using the Kuwaiti port may hamper access to an Iraqi harbor for the largest vessels. Kuwait said it welcomes any further Iraqi visits and can show the port won’t violate Iraq’s rights or obstruct its maritime activity.
“The Iraqi government calls on Kuwait to stop works on the Mubarak port until we assert that the maritime rights of Iraq as well as the free sailing and security in the common waters won’t be affected,” Iraqi State Minister Ali al-Dabbagh said in an e- mailed statement earlier today.
Iraq has yet to implement plans announced a few years ago to build a port on its coast in the southern Basra region that would spur economic activity and become a gateway for Gulf products on their way to Turkey and Europe.
Iraq is eager to boost energy exports to pay for reconstruction after decades of conflict and sanctions that left much of the country’s infrastructure destroyed.