23 - 29 August 2001
Issue No.548
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 23 - 29 August 2001 Issue No.548 |
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Just dessert?
Economic issues, ostensibly the objective of Bashar Al-Assad's visit to Kuwait, could not quite push politics into the wings. Sherine Bahaa reports
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad summed up his three-day visit to Kuwait in one word: "fruitful." Assad, who arrived on Saturday and was scheduled to leave on Sunday, decided to remain a day longer, fuelling speculation that the Syrian leader is working on a reconciliation initiative between his hosts and their archenemy, Iraq.
President Bashar stands besides Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah after arriving to Kuwait airport
(photo: AFP)
Observers also saw the high-profile visit, Assad's first since he took office a year ago, as a clear message to Kuwait's rulers that an increasing rapprochement between Damascus and Baghdad in recent years does not mean a shift in Syria's policy, or a waning of its support for the oil-rich Gulf state. Assad arrived in Kuwait just two days after Syrian Prime Minister Mustafa Miro had concluded an unprecedented visit to Baghdad that included a meeting with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein -- an additional indication that relations between the two neighbours are on the mend.
Syria was an influential member of the US-led international alliance to liberate Kuwait from Iraq's seven-month occupation in 1991. Promises by wealthy Gulf states to provide aid to both Syria and Egypt following their participation in the Gulf War evaporated shortly thereafter, however, and Syria's need to boost its economy may be one reason it is not reluctant to improve ties with Baghdad now.
During his visit, Assad held talks with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah as well as with the crown prince, Saad Al-Sabah, and other senior officials, but not much was revealed. He also met with Kuwaiti businessmen and investors to discuss means of boosting trade between the two countries. No joint statement was issued following the visit, though. "Officials do not usually leak much information regarding the outcome of talks between the emir and any visiting figure," explained one Kuwaiti analyst.
Shortly after Assad decided to extend his visit to Kuwait, Arab press reports suggested that the Syrian president could be about to present an initiative for a trilateral meeting gathering Syria, Iraq and Kuwait to discuss the issue of 600 missing Kuwait prisoners of war. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah soon shot such speculation down. "They were successful talks on bilateral ties but as far as Syrian mediation is concerned, we did not discuss anything relating to rapprochement with Iraq," the sheikh said.
An informed Kuwaiti source told Reuters that the "Iraq issue was only lightly addressed as part of a general review of developments in the Arab world."
The Kuwaitis seem especially keen to conceal their concerns over growing ties between Syria and Iraq. For his part, Assad refused to link the two visits, reiterating that his trip to Kuwait had been on the agenda. Others begged to differ. "It is no secret that Syria is adopting the strategy of equilibrium in its relations with both Kuwait and Iraq under the emblem of the economy," an Arab diplomat commented.
Yet Ghanem Naggar, a professor of political science at Kuwait University, was not very optimistic about the prospects for Syria's efforts to narrow the gap between Kuwait and Iraq. "Problems between Syria and Iraq are much more complicated than those between Kuwait and Iraq," he said. Although both Iraq and Syria are ruled by the Arab nationalist Baath Party, Saddam Hussein and the late Syrian president, Hafez Al-Assad, were known to be bitter foes. Syria sided with Iran during its eight-year war against Iraq, and the two capitals competed in trumpeting their authentic commitment to Arab nationalist principles.
However, it was also Hafez Al-Assad who started the slow process of détente in 1997, and early this year, the two countries signed a preferential trade agreement.
Commenting on Bashar's visit to Kuwait, the English-language daily Syria Times argued it is necessary to end differences and restore Arab unity now, in order to counter the dangers posed by the Israeli government. It noted: "The Arabs have no choice but to prepare themselves for defending their land and dignity in the face of the Israeli hostile policy led by General Sharon."
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