END TO NEUTRALITY

From the time it gained its independence in 1961, Kuwait has displayed a penchant for innovation and originality in the exercise of its foreign policies. Kuwait was the first Arab country to invite in a pan-Arab military force to protect itself against an expressed threat in 1961 of annexation by Iraq; it was the first of the Gulf Arab states to establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet bloc countries and China; it was the first Arab country in the region to have an elected General Assembly (dissolved last year by the Amir, when he suspended certain articles of the Kuwaiti constitution); and, now, Kuwait is the first Gulf state to conclude a political deal which, involves both superpowers in the Gulf region.