Kuwait: The State of Kuwait affirmed that any attempt to turn international straits into instruments of financial and political blackmail constitutes "legal piracy" that would disrupt value-added chains and hinder the delivery of medical and technological innovations to global markets.
According to Bahrain News Agency, this statement was delivered by Ambassador Nasser Al Hayen, Kuwait's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, during the 67th session of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). He warned that the international system faces serious challenges requiring a link between political stability and knowledge security.
Ambassador Al Hayen stressed that ensuring the safety of international navigation, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, is essential for the flow of inventions and technological products. He affirmed that imposing illegal fees or obstacles on passing ships constitutes a clear violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
He also renewed Kuwait's condemnation of the aggressive actions carried out by the Iranian regime and its regional proxies, which affect innovation infrastructure and represent a violation of state sovereignty and a direct threat to ports and vital facilities. He denounced the escalatory approach and the targeting of critical research centres and strategic waterways as a breach of the founding charters of WIPO.
The Permanent Representative of Kuwait indicated that security tensions create gaps exploited by piracy networks and illicit trafficking in counterfeit goods, which is incompatible with the principles of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). He also warned of the growing danger of cyberattacks and the theft of research data, which threaten the future of humanity.
Ambassador Al Hayen concluded by calling for urgent international action to protect knowledge assets and for activating international accountability mechanisms against practices that threaten scientific achievements or disrupt global trade routes. This would strengthen the authority of international conventions and protect the innovation environment from interference that hinders human development.