On Thursday, 29th February, 2024, the Embassy of Kuwait in Canada hosted a reception in room TwentyTwo at the top of the Westin Hotel to celebrated its 63rd year of independence and the 33rd year since the liberation of Kuwait from the occupation of Iraq.
To see all the pictures, CLICK HERE:
Kuwait gained its independence from Britain on June 19, 1961, when late Emir Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al Sabah, the 11th ruler of the country, signed the Declaration of Independence with the British High Commissioner in the Arabian Gulf , Sir George Middleton. On May 18, 1964, it was decided to change that date and merge it with Feb. 25, which coincides with the anniversary of late Emir Abdullah Al-Salem Al Sabah’s ascension of the throne, in honour of his recognized role in the independence of the country and the consolidation of its democracy.
This year’s event was much smaller than last year’s but an excellent event non-the-less with addresses from Her Excellency Reem Al Khaled, Ambassador to Canada from the State of Kuwait, MP the Honorable Ahmed Hussen, and a third speaker who’s name I didn’t get. Because of the smaller size of the event, I noticed that there weren’t the representations from the military that have been there in the past. Specifically, I didn’t see any defence attachés or any Canadian military uniforms. I found this strange as the coalition to free Kuwait consisted of 42 countries. Again, this may all be due to the smaller size of the venue restricting the guest list.
My main purpose at this event was to take a few pictures of the Persian Gulf Veterans of Canada members who attended and there were four or five including the Vice-President, Mike McGlennon and Richard Delve. These men are still struggling to have their service in the Gulf to be recognized as War Time Service rather than Special Duty Service in the same manner that the Korean War Veterans and the Merchant Marine members have had their service recognized. Apparently they’ve received four days to forward their case but the exact dates for that testimony have not yet been set. Good luck to them.
