Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah voiced here Friday optimism about an international meeting on Syria due here on Saturday.

Speaking to KUNA upon his arrival in Geneva to attend the meeting of the International Contact Group on Syria, the Kuwaiti minister hoped that the gathering would come up with recommendations that could be in the interest of the Syrian people.
He said the meeting would focus on UN-Arab Envoy for Syria Kofi Annan's roadmap plan for Syria, and how to ensure a ceasefire as a springboard for a smooth transition of the political process, in order to fulfill the expectations and hopes of the Syrian people.

Kuwait will attend the meeting in its capacity as chair of the Ministerial Council of the Arab League. The five permanent member states of the UN Security Council and a representative of the Arab League will also partake in the meeting.

The Kuwaiti official pointed to a consensus among the conferees on helping the Syrian people determine their future in a way that could meet their expectations.

"The focus now is on a ceasefire, and how to involve all categories of the Syrian people in making their own future and choosing their own representative, " he said.

He boasted that the Arab League has been busy with nothing but the Syrian crisis and has held over 20 ordinary and extraordinary meetings on Syria since the outbreak of unrest there.

The Arab League has also attended recent meetings on Syria in Tunis and Istanbul, and is going to partake in a similar conference in Paris next week, he said.

Furthermore, Kuwait is set to head a meeting on Sunday involving 100 Syrian opposition members to discuss the future of their country, the Kuwaiti official pointed out.

The Kuwaiti delegation participating in the Geneva meeting on Syria includes Kuwait's permanent representative at the Arab League Ambassador Jamal Al-Ghunaim, Kuwaiti ambassador to Syria Aziz Raheem Al-Dehani, Minister Plenipotentiary Saleh Salem Al-Loughani and several senior officials of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs.