H.E. ANNE-CLAIRE LEGENDRE
AMBASSADOR OF FRANCE
Bastille Day represents the annual celebration of the French national values, summarized in our nation’s motto, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. After more than a year of an unprecedented pandemic, this motto seems even more valuable: we have been experiencing every day how our freedom — freedom to travel, to see our family, to work — depends on the solidarity of all and our capacity to face this crisis together.
The pandemic has increased inequalities around the world and within our societies. To face this global challenge and uphold our values, France has been calling for more fraternity, a universal access to vaccines and treatments for the poorest countries, support for the most vulnerable economies, especially in Africa, more aid to women and children as they bear the brunt of this multifaceted crisis. We were very happy to see Kuwait join the COVAX initiative launched by President Emmanuel Macron, in line with Kuwait’s generous legacy of supporting actively multilateralism.
Despite all the difficulties created by the pandemic, much has been done to strengthen the excellent relationship France and Kuwait enjoy. The year 2021 marks the anniversary of our 60 years of friendship as France was one of the first countries to recognize the new independent state of Kuwait on 28 August, 1961. It also marks the 30th anniversary of the participation of France and its 19,000 troops in the Liberation of Kuwait. This strategic partnership endures and we intend to mark these anniversaries by bringing it to a new level.
A strategic dialogue will take place at ministerial level, for the very first time, and will tackle four priorities: defense and security as France remains committed to the stability of the region; culture and education as we work in accompanying Kuwait in its demarche towards the International Organization of Francophonie; trade and investment as our mutually beneficial business relationship can contribute to the diversification of Kuwait economy; and finally, health, which has become a strategic area for cooperation for both our countries.
Beyond institutions, friendship thrives on people’s bonds. I was so happy to meet, as much as COVID-19 allowed, with the many Kuwaitis, especially among the talented young generation, that want to build ties with my country, already share a passion for French language, culture or fashion, thrived through French universities or visited France many times. We are determined to build these relationships and engage even more widely, through our nascent French diwaniyya on Clubhouse or the resumption of our cultural activities as soon as it proves possible. You will find in this special issue a brief overview of the French activities in Kuwait. There is more to come, with an ambitious program to celebrate the 60th anniversary and we hope you will join us!
In the meantime, summer is here and I wish you very happy holidays, especially to all the students who graduated successfully in these difficult circumstances. As you know, the situation in France is now under control, with a low number of cases and a vaccination process well under way, we are reopening the country and allowing people to retrieve a sense of normalcy, while remaining very vigilant to ensure the safety of our citizens and visitors.
On the basis of the latest health review, travelers from Kuwait are most welcome to France, provided they are fully vaccinated (two shots, from the four vaccines authorized in the EU) and they carry a valid visa and a PCR test. You will be able to enjoy all the pleasures France has to offer, from restaurants and cafés, to museums and attractions such as EuroDisney, to shopping and enjoying our beautiful landscapes. We hope to see you in France very soon!
Wishing you all a happy Bastille Day, long live the friendship between our two countries!
Inauguration of the exhibition
“Regards Croisés”
By H.E Anne-Claire Legendre
As part of the celebrations of the French National Day, Ali Al-Arbash, in cooperation with the French Embassy in Kuwait, invites you to come and discover his work which will be exhibited in the ‘Gallery’ space of the Al Hamra mall from July 14, at 12 pm. This exhibition entitled ‘Regards croisés’ proposes to resonate photographs taken in France and Kuwait, as if to better depict the deep friendship that binds our two countries.
About Ali Al-Barsh
Ali Al-Arbash is an amateur photographer with a passion for architecture, fine art and visual arts.
After several years of experience in traditional photography, he decided to give ‘phonéography’ a try: his cell phone became his new working tool. It is therefore by means of his telephone that he manages to capture scenes from ordinary life, in a café terrace in Paris or in a metro. His label brings majesty to these moments of everyday life.
Ali Al-Arbash is part of this new current of ‘phonéographers’ which, with the help of high-performance devices and relevant accessories, breathe new life into the art of photography, while contributing to its professionalization.
Generation Equality Forum
France is committed to women’s and girls’ rights and gender equality
From June 30 to July 2, France hosted the Generation Equality Forum in Paris, co-organized with Mexico under the auspices of UN Women, in partnership with civil society and youth. A quarter of a century after the last United Nations World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, the Generation Equality Forum was an opportunity to implement pluralism through the actions advocated by the President of the Republic as well as its feminist diplomacy, adopted. for more than three years.
This effective pluralism has resulted in concrete declarations and long-term multi-stakeholder partnerships. More than $40 billion in unprecedented funding and 1,000 commitments were released to support a global acceleration plan for equality between women and men, charting a course to achieve tangible and ambitious results for women, men and girls by 2026 and providing a response to the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis.
In addition to its role in the international mobilization of states, international organizations, the private sector and civil society, by fully integrating into the management of the Forum, France has made a series of international commitments on priority issues.
Green Embassy
In 2015, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs decided, with the aim of COP21, to establish the “Green Embassy” project. Green Embassy is a project in which embassies take a holistic and progressive approach to reduce their environmental impact.
Since that date, many projects responsible for the environment have appeared in the embassies.
The French Embassy in Kuwait is involved in this movement. The concern is not new: since 2019, the Embassy has replaced housing lamps with LEDs; Since 2020, cups or plastic bottles are no longer used, small defective electronic equipment is recycled and garden-grown aromatic herbs are used in housing.
The Environmental Committee established in December 2020 aims to structure sustainable development actions in order to develop awareness and mobilize agents on this topic on the one hand, and to put in place environmentally responsible measures within the Embassy on the other hand. Thus, in 2021, the French Embassy in Kuwait:
Composting using recycled pallets at headquarters;
Use of canvas and reusable tote bags for shopping at receptions at the residence;
A collaborative vegetable garden and compost made from recycled pallets have been set up at the French Center for Research in the Arabian Peninsula (CEFREPA).
Recycle plastic bottles.
Establish a collection box in the SGA department within the Embassy to collect batteries and small electronic equipment for agents, which will be regularly unloaded into the Enterprise Enviroserve container at the Scientific Center.
Many of these procedures are carried out in cooperation with the German Embassy, which is co-located with the French Embassy.
On a regular basis, the Embassy also encourages its agents to be aware of electricity consumption, water consumption and digital sorting.
Finally, as part of the embassy’s fleet renewal, the latter was recently fitted with the Renault KOLEOS, a vehicle that measures driver environmental driving.
Along the same lines, on 27 March, 2021, the ambassador participated in a webinar organized by the Kuwait Environmental Protection Society (KEPS) on the topic “One Hour for the Planet”. Earth Hour is an international day organized each year on the last Saturday in March at the initiative of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Sydney Morning Herald, a major Australian daily, so that the planet becomes aware of it. Excessive consumption of materials (especially energy). It was held in Kuwait, as elsewhere in the world, on Saturday 27 March from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
The webinar was held on the same day from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm, and focused on the impacts of our behaviors on climate and biodiversity. The ceremony was also attended by representatives from the Ministry of Water and Energy, the Environment Public Authority, the Kuwait National Guard, KEPS and the Arab Network of Environmental NGOs.
The ambassador highlighted the strong relationship between climate change, the radical and dramatic transformation of biodiversity on all continents, and the growing number of pandemic crises. For its part, the French Institute in Kuwait was keen on the extinction of all sources of energy consumption for an hour, and some of its employees joined this initiative.
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