Kuwait’s new Amir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah yesterday met senior US, Iranian and Gulf officials who separately paid their respects over the death of the Gulf state’s former ruler.
Sheikh Nawaf assumed power after the death last Tuesday of his brother, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad.
The late Amir balanced ties between neighbours Saudi Arabia and Iran and kept a strong relationship with the United States, which led a coalition that ended Iraq’s 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait.
“He will be remembered as a great man and a special friend to the United States,” US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said in comments tweeted by the US Embassy during his visit.
Sheikh Nawaf also received Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif.
Iranian state media later carried a message by President Hassan Rouhani to the new Amir: “I am confident that, as in the past, we will see a growing expansion of friendly and fraternal ties between the two countries.”
Sheikh Nawaf, 83, is expected to uphold the Opec member state’s oil and foreign policy, which promoted regional detente.
He has yet to name a crown prince.
The Amir has up to a year to name an heir, but analysts expect a decision in the coming weeks. Parliament must approve the choice.
Kuwait has its closest but most complex relationship with Saudi Arabia, which on Thursday sent an adviser to King Salman, who had surgery in July, to offer condolences.
A handout picture released by the Kuwaiti Amiri Diwan shows the US Defence Secretary Mark Esper (left) meeting with the Amir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah at the Amiri terminal of the Kuwait international airport, yesterday.
