Sheikh Mubarak Airport
Let us get straight to the heart of the matter. We hope that the name “Sheikh Meshal” will be bestowed upon Kuwait International Airport, encompassing all its facilities. In this context, it is only natural and logical for the face of Kuwait’s aviation sector to bear the name of His Highness the Amir.
Before delving into the core of this idea, it is worth noting that naming airports after leaders is a highly common practice, whether in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, or Australia. There are approximately 100 such airports, the latest being the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, which has been renamed the Donald Trump International Airport. Each of these was named after a leader who achieved something during his tenure or left a mark in a particular field.
More important than the symbolic, formal aspect is a substantive issue. Logic dictates that we say to His Highness: Thank you. This is the least we can offer in terms of appreciation and gratitude to a man who dedicated all his time, effort, and health to restoring public institutions to rectitude, a necessary step for Kuwait to move toward a future of development.
What His Highness has accomplished, from the moment he assumed the position of Crown Prince until he ascended to the throne, is significant and extensive. Development is not defined by monumental structures, statues, or cosmetic improvements to streets and buildings. True development requires the existence of capable, genuine institutions.
Such institutions cannot function properly without real governance, transparency, and the rule of law, free from the loopholes, brokerage, favoritism, and political deals that were common in the past. By everyone’s testimony, His Highness has restored the dignity of the law.
However, the rule of law remains merely a slogan in electoral programs unless it is accompanied by a genuine war against corruption, transgressions, embezzlement, and money laundering. What has occurred in Kuwait in recent years demonstrates that the sword of accountability was applied to the powerful before the weak, and to the son of the ruling family before the ordinary citizen. A single standard was established to measure performance. This reassured the majority and angered a minority that viewed institutions as bridges for patronage and cash cows.
The genuine war against corruption, the rule of law, and governance are the real key to attracting investments and capital. The rush by major global companies to obtain licenses and open offices in Kuwait is a direct expression of confidence in the country and its future.
The roadmap drawn here may not yield visible results today or tomorrow, but it will build solid pillars for a promising and secure future. In our countries, it is easy to make populist decisions, such as granting allowances and gifts, or opening projects here and there without a comprehensive plan. It is equally easy to dilute impact by treating a problem that requires surgery with a painkiller, or to patch things up by solving a failed model’s problem at the expense of a successful one. It is also easy to postpone action by ignoring problems at their root and leaving them to be passed on from one government to the next.
His Highness Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad has chosen the difficult path, but it is the path that leads to a different Kuwait. He has directed the adoption of strict decisions in the interest of Kuwait, its citizens, and their future. He did not seek easy solutions in pursuit of momentary populism that would only result in the persistence of problems. Instead, he ordered surgery for problems that require it, regardless of side effects and complications. Historically, painkillers have weakened institutions in Kuwait, leading to admissions from the top echelons that the corruption in some of these institutions is “beyond repair.”
His Highness distinguished between governance as firmness and decisiveness, and between leniency and appeasing people’s whims. He contrasted leading the state toward a secure, advanced, and stable future with untested populism; with building on solid and firm foundations, even if it takes years, and with constructing on flimsy ground that trembles at the slightest breeze; and between realizing the dreams and interests of future generations by ensuring them the best education, highest professions, and positions, versus cramming thousands of graduates annually into state institutions and fields unrelated to their specializations. He charted fixed but difficult paths, and did not shy away from the path of truth due to its few travelers, as Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him, said.
We stated that the majority supports the roadmap whose gradual implementation we are witnessing today, and we note that a minority may fail to grasp that long-term developmental paths require patience, steadfastness, and sometimes sacrifices. Here we point to a small subset within this minority, known for their fragile resolve, who constantly attempt to undermine efforts, even when the measures aim to consolidate the rule of law and institutions. To this tiny minority: continue your clamor, for you will see no flour, only further disappointments.
We are confident that this matter will be at the forefront of the Cabinet’s priorities, and we can only pray that God protect His Highness, grant him strength and long life, to complete the course and usher in Kuwait’s future.
