Amir graces opening of new CBK building
KUWAIT CITY, April 10, (KUNA): His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Monday patronized and attended the inauguration of the new main headquarters of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK).
His Highness was greeted by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Anas Khaled Al-Saleh and CBK Governor Dr Mohammad Al-Hashel and CBK’s board members.
The ceremony was attended by His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim, Sheikh Jaber Al-Abullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Sheikh Faisal Al-Saud Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad AlSabah, President of the Supreme Judicial Council, head of
the Court of Cassation and Constitutional Court Justice Yousef Jasem AlMutawa’a, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah AlSabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khaled AlJarrah Al-Sabah in addition to senior state officials.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Anas Al-Saleh expressed in his speech his deep thanks for His Highness the Amir’s patronage and congratulated CBK’s team for launching their new building.
He also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to all the former CBK’s’ teams, boards of directors, and governors namely Hamza Abbas Hussain, Abdulwahhab Ali Al-Tammar, Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah and Dr Mohammad Yousef Al-Hashel.
Al-Saleh addressed His Highness the Amir by saying that His Highness’ strategic vision of transforming Kuwait to a financial and commercial center is based on having a strong banking and financial sector of prominent supervisory and observatory systems through enhancing monetary and financial stability policies.
He called on Kuwaiti banks to reconstruct their financial resources by offering the appropriate tools for giant projects and their financing needs, as well as partnership plans between the public and private sectors.
He also called for further financial freedoms and openness on international markers and to avoid abidance to the traditional banking activities.
CBK cherishes an international integrity indicated by various international credit rating agencies, he affirmed.
The banking and financial sectors in Kuwait are distinguished for having two separate approaches, namely the traditional banking industry and the Islamic banking sector.
For his part, Central Bank of Kuwait Governor Dr Mohammad Al-Hashel welcomed the audience in his speech, and thanked His Highness the Amir for attending and patronizing the ceremony.
Al-Hashel said that Kuwait’s banking and financial sectors are one of the basic pillars of improving the national economy, adding that CBK is keen on supervising the State’s banking system.
The financial stability is a main demand to support CBK’s monetary system as the bank is working hard to consolidate trust of the national currency, he added.
He pointed out that the beginning was at the establishment of the Kuwaiti monetary council in 1960 to look into measures to issue the currency and coins.
He added that then, the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) was established by virtue of the Law No. 32 of 1968 to issue the national currency on behalf of the State, maintain the relative stability of the Kuwaiti Dinar, and secure its free convertibility into foreign currencies, and to serve as a financial adviser to the government, Al-Hashel said.
CBK’s establishment, hence, was in response to the need to keeping pace with domestic and international developments, particularly in view of the increasingly important role of the monetary and financial policy contributing to the advancement of social and economic development in the country, CBK Chief noted.
He asserted that by the opening of this new landmark headquarters of CBK, “we renew the covenant to this country”, asking Allah Almighty to protect Kuwait’s stability and security, and to continue the path of prosperity and progress.