His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has been bestowed with the prestigious Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander award of the United States, by US President Donald Trump, in recognition of His Highness the Amir’s tireless efforts and significant leadership role in the region and the world.
President Trump presented the award to Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who accepted it on behalf of His Highness the Amir, at a private ceremony held at the Oval Office in the White House on Friday.
In a statement from the White House on President Trump presenting the award to His Highness the Amir read: “A leader in the Middle East for decades, the Amir has been a truly unwavering friend and partner to the United States.The Amir is also an unparalleled diplomat, having served as his nation’s Foreign Minister for 40 years. His tireless mediation of disputes in the Middle East has bridged divides under the most challenging circumstances. The President is very pleased to award this honor to his dear friend, the Amir.”
The Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, is a rarely-awarded, prestigious decoration that can only be bestowed by the President, typically to chiefs of state or heads of government of other countries.
The award, which coincides with the upcoming 60th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Kuwait and the United States, is also a culmination of the historic and distinguished partnership between the two countries.
His Highness the Amir: A visionary leader, a proponent of peace
Since his ascension as Amir of Kuwait in 2006, and even before that as the country’s foreign minister for over forty years, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, has taken far-sighted actions and sagacious decisions that have invariably resulted in the best outcome for the nation and its people.
Although His Highness the Amir was a member of every government formed after Kuwait’s independence in 1961 and held various official posts before and after that, it is as the country’s longstanding foreign minister that he gained prominence on the world arena. Known fondly among the global diplomatic community as a ‘doyen of diplomacy’, for his considerable experience in foreign policies and international negotiations, His Highness has successfully mediated solutions to seemingly intractable political problems in the region and beyond.
In his role as foreign minister during the Iraqi invasion in 1990, it was His Highness’ personal rapport with diplomats and government leaders worldwide and his strong standing among the diplomatic community that helped Kuwait garner overwhelming international support in the UN against the brutal invasion. This global support was manifested in the unanimous UN Security Council (UNSC) decision 670 on 2 August, 1990 that condemned the Iraqi invasion and called for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi troops from Kuwait.
His Highness was also instrumental in successfully piloting every subsequent UNSC resolution against the invasion, including UNSC decision 678 on 29 November, 1990 that authorized member states to use all necessary means to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait and restore international peace and security in the region.
Over the years, His Highness’ extraordinary flair for charting the country through its domestic and foreign challenges has allowed Kuwait to pursue a path of peace, progress and prosperity.
A firm advocate of the power and significance of Arab unity, and the importance of discussion and dialogue to bridge conflict and disagreement, His Highness has on numerous occasions taken on the mantle of mediation and worked tirelessly to reconcile differences and end conflicts among brotherly Arab states. A strategy centered on supporting and encouraging people and countries to cooperate and coexist with each other so as to ensure peaceful progress for all, has seen His Highness bring about peace and stability among nations in the region and the wider Arab world.
A humanitarian to the core, His Highness’ magnanimity has seen no bounds. Since his ascension as Amir of Kuwait in 2006 he has raised the width and volume of aid provided by Kuwait to nations affected by catastrophes and crises around the world. On a personal level His Highness most recently donated one million dinars to the ‘Tour of Hope’ project, where a boat set off from Kuwait to the UN Headquarters in New York and back, stopping at various ports on the way, to highlight the plight of the intellectually disabled, and to underline the humanitarian and civilized role the state of Kuwait plays in field of special-need care and in looking after marginalized sections of society.
On the Palestinian front, Kuwait has always stressed backing the just cause of the Palestinian people and over the years, Kuwait has delivered millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinian Authority to support its functioning, reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts. Under the leadership of His Highness the Amir, Kuwait has also donated hundreds of millions of dollars for humanitarian operations, not only in the Middle East, but in Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan.
Kuwait’s leadership and funding has also saved tens of thousands of lives, and has galvanized others to participate in coordinated international humanitarian actions. In addition to hosting an annual regional conference on partnerships for effective humanitarian action, Kuwait has also increased its support for multilateral humanitarian action exponentially since the start of the crisis in Syria.
Enormous efforts exerted by Kuwait to relieve the humanitarian situation and suffering of the Syrian people stranded in their own country and in neighboring countries due to ongoing conflict, led to His Highness initiating and hosting three Syrian donors’ conferences in Kuwait and attending the fourth pledging conference in London in 2016. At these four conferences, the world witnessed the generosity of Kuwait when His Highness pledged billions of dollars in humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of Syrian refugees around the world. In recognition of the humanitarian initiatives of His Highness the Amir and the State of Kuwait, the United Nations announced in August 2014 that Kuwait is ‘an international humanitarian center’ and its Amir is a global ‘humanitarian leader’.
In his remarks at the ceremony recognizing the humanitarian leadership of His Highness the Amir, the then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: “For more than three years, we have witnessed an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the Middle East. But in response to this death and chaos, we have also seen remarkable acts of human kindness and generosity.
Kuwait has shown exemplary humanitarian leadership in supporting humanitarian operations under the compassionate and passionate leadership of His Highness the Amir. Kuwait may be a small country in size but she has a big and broad and compassionate heart.
“We are here today to pay our deepest tribute to the humanitarian leadership of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber al Sabah. We thank His Highness the Amir of Kuwait and the people of Kuwait for their outstanding generosity. At a time when so many of our appeals are under-funded, it is good to know we can count on Kuwait’s generosity, and particularly His Highness, the Amir of Kuwait.”
In his response at being felicitated by the UN, His Highness the Amir expressed his “appreciation for the gracious and unprecedented UN gesture towards the people and government of my country Kuwait, and towards me personally.” He went on to add that the honor bestowed upon him was a tribute to all the people of Kuwait, in appreciation of their longstanding and ongoing benevolence. He pointed out that since gaining its independence and consequent membership in the UN, the State of Kuwait has followed a steady approach in its foreign policy, based essentially on providing humanitarian assistance to all needy countries, regardless of their geographic location, religious beliefs or ethnic origins.
His Highness noted that Kuwaiti charitable associations and peoples’ fundraising committees have set an example in their continued support of many humanitarian projects in Asia and Africa, by individual initiatives that have become a shining example of benevolence characterizing the Kuwaiti people. In conclusion, His Highness said, “I also would like to renew the commitment of the State of Kuwait to the United Nations and its noble message of the preservation of international peace and security, the dissemination of the principles of justice and equality, and ensuring a life of dignity and welfare to the peoples of the world.”
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