France Stresses Support for Saudi Initiative on Yemen, Condemns Houthi Attacks

The Saudi Foreign Minister during his meeting with his French counterpart in Paris on Wednesday (Prince Faisal bin Farhan Twitter account).
The Saudi Foreign Minister during his meeting with his French counterpart in Paris on Wednesday (Prince Faisal bin Farhan Twitter account).
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France Stresses Support for Saudi Initiative on Yemen, Condemns Houthi Attacks

The Saudi Foreign Minister during his meeting with his French counterpart in Paris on Wednesday (Prince Faisal bin Farhan Twitter account).
The Saudi Foreign Minister during his meeting with his French counterpart in Paris on Wednesday (Prince Faisal bin Farhan Twitter account).

France has stressed its support for the Saudi peace initiative in Yemen, and condemned Houthi militia attacks on Saudi territories, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry following a meeting between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in Paris.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan met over the past two days with a number of French officials, including the adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, Ambassador Emmanuel Bonne, and French senators.

The French President is expected to visit Saudi Arabia in October, according to well-informed French sources.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said that the two parties were seeking to boost their relations in various economic and investment fields, and work on giant projects in Saudi Arabia and France.

Discussions during Prince Faisal’s meetings in Paris also touched on enhancing cooperation in the educational and health sectors and the fields of innovation and technology, as well as exchanging expertise and combating Covid-19 and its variants.

The Iranian nuclear program prevailed over talks on regional affairs. In its statement, the French Foreign Ministry said that Le Drian underlined the need for Tehran to return to the nuclear negotiations, but reaffirmed “France’s commitment to regional security and stability and its determination to respond to issues of concern to France and Saudi Arabia.”

On Yemen, the French minister was keen to stress the “firm condemnation of the attacks carried out by the Houthis against Saudi territories,” and the need to stop hostilities, “proceed with a full and comprehensive political solution, and support the peace initiative presented by Saudi Arabia in March.”

The two sides discussed the situation in Lebanon, as Paris is preparing to hold a virtual conference on Aug. 4, a year after the port explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital, in order to provide humanitarian support to the people who are suffering from deteriorating crises.

Paris is seeking to guarantee the widest participation in order to maximize international support. France had hosted two similar conferences last year, and the French Ministry of Defense organized a meeting in mid-June to provide support to the Lebanese army.

The French Foreign Ministry said that Le Drian emphasized the “urgent” need for Lebanese officials to form a new government “capable of carrying out reforms.”



Kuwait Revokes Record Number of 930 Citizenships in One Day

The Supreme Committee to Investigate the Kuwaiti Citizenship has decided to revoke and annul the Kuwaiti citizenship of 930 individuals. (KUNA)
The Supreme Committee to Investigate the Kuwaiti Citizenship has decided to revoke and annul the Kuwaiti citizenship of 930 individuals. (KUNA)
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Kuwait Revokes Record Number of 930 Citizenships in One Day

The Supreme Committee to Investigate the Kuwaiti Citizenship has decided to revoke and annul the Kuwaiti citizenship of 930 individuals. (KUNA)
The Supreme Committee to Investigate the Kuwaiti Citizenship has decided to revoke and annul the Kuwaiti citizenship of 930 individuals. (KUNA)

The Supreme Committee to Investigate the Kuwaiti Citizenship has taken a significant step by revoking and annulling the citizenship of 930 individuals, in preparation for presenting their cases to the Cabinet.
The Ministry of Interior announced that the Committee convened on Thursday and made the decision to revoke the Kuwaiti citizenship of 930 individuals. This action is subject to final approval and will be submitted to the Cabinet for further review.
On October 31, the committee revoked the citizenship of 489 individuals, setting a new record for the largest single nationality revocation, surpassing the previous record set on September 20, when 112 individuals had their citizenship annulled.
No official statistics are available on the total number of nationality revocations since the committee began its work in early March, when Kuwaiti authorities launched a campaign aimed at revoking citizenships for various reasons, primarily related to fraud. By the end of September, unofficial estimates suggested that over 2,000 individuals had lost their citizenship, with some cases still pending formal decrees.
Kuwait’s Interior Minister, Sheikh Fahad Yusuf, emphasized that the nationality revocations are aimed at individuals and their dependents who obtained citizenship without fulfilling the legal requirements, particularly those who never received an official decree. He pointed out that some members of previous governments had bypassed legal procedures by approving citizenship applications without awaiting the formal decree.
In a statement to a local newspaper, Sheikh Fahad Yusuf explained that those whose citizenships were revoked did not contest the committee’s decisions, as they were based on clear evidence and proper documentation. He emphasized that the process of nationality revocation would continue, stating: “We are still at the beginning,” and assured that revocations would proceed only after thorough examination and verification of all cases.