Defence minister briefs Cabinet on Qatari counterpart’s visit to Kuwait
Council of Ministers discusses Manila decision on workers
KUWAIT city, Jan 22, (KUNA): First Deputy Premier and Defense Minister Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah briefed the Cabinet Monday about Qatari Defense Minister Khaled Al-Attiyah’s visit to Kuwait yesterday, and outcome of his talks with the senior officials regarding regional developments.
This came during the weekly Cabinet meeting, chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, said Deputy Premier and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh in a statement.
The Cabinet welcomed Lebanese President Michel Aoun who would pay a state visit to Kuwait tomorrow Tuesday.
Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah then briefed the executives about his visit to Paris last week and meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, to discuss regional and international developments.
He also briefed them about his participation in a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat so-called Islamic State (IS), which was held in New York last Friday. The New York meeting, said Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, aimed at discussing the peace process in Iraq through restoration of stability and reconstruction of areas liberated from IS.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled also talked about his meeting with Brett McGruk, US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition, during which they discussed preparations for an international ministerial meeting of the coalition.
Meanwhile, the government approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UN regarding youth, a technical cooperation agreement with Japan, an agreement with Beijing to establish a Chinese cultural center, and an agreement on cyber-security with Britain.
It also approved aviation agreement with Djibouti, an articrafts agreement with Oman, an economic and technical cooperation agreement with Honduras, an environment protection deal with Albania, an agreement on renewable energy with Morocco, a higher education and scientific research agreement with Pakistan, a housing agreement with China, agreements on youth and tourism cooperation with Turkey, and a deal with Latvia to exempt diplomatic and private passport holders from entry visas.
On the other hand, the government assigned the Finance Ministry to subscribe on behalf of citizens for initial public offering of public-privatepartnership projects.
It instructed relocation of Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base before June 1, 2018, to pave way for construction of Kuwait International Airport building.
The Ministries of defense, public works and finance, and civil aviation directorate will speed up relocation of
the Air Base, said Minister Al-Saleh.
The government also approved establishment of board of trustees of Silk City and Boubyan Island development authority.
Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim will chair the board, and will have Salem AlAthaina, Mohammad Al-Marzouq, Omran Hayat, Adnan Al-Bahar, Khaled Al-Nassar, Tareq A-Essa and Sara Akbar as members.
The government also set up a committee tasked with receiving complaints of employees.
The committee will be chaired by President of the Civil Services Commission Ahmad Jassar, Justice Sultan Burusli as deputy chairman, and membership of Ahmad Al-Duaij, Hessa Al-Anjeri and Mufarreh AlShemmeri.
The Cabinet members then discussed a grilling motion against Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hind Al-Sabeeh.
Al-Sabeeh explained the interpellation and elaborated on her answers,
and the government members extended full backing to their colleague.
Kuwait Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah briefed the Cabinet on the President of Philippines Rodrigo Duterte’s “sudden” suspension of laborers’ dispatch to Kuwait, which ran counter to mutual interest.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said Duterte’s “sudden statement” prompted the relevant authorities in Kuwait to contact with authorities in Philippines to clarify the president’s statement.
He said the president mentioned individual cases which did not apply to the majority, and those cases were subjected to legal procedures.
The State of Kuwait, said the top diplomat, has clean human rights record by which the expatriates enjoyed full rights.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said the laws in Kuwait were organizing relations between employees and employers, which encouraged many nationalities to come work in Kuwait.
The Foreign Ministry summoned yesterday Ambassador of the Philippines, Renato Pedro Villa, and expressed regret and bewilderment toward Duterte’s decision to suspend dispatch of laborers to Kuwait.
Such a stance contradicts nature of the distinctive ties between the two countries and does not serve their common interests, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah said.
Al-Jarallah added that the Kuwaiti side noted to the ambassador that freedoms and rights enjoyed by the expatriate communities in the country contributed to lifting number of the Filipino workers to 276,000.
Moreover, the Kuwaiti side expressed readiness to host Filipino diplomats to discuss conditions of the community and follow up on Filipinos’ problems.
Al-Jarallah added that the envoy was asked to seek to lift the ban.
The Filipino envoy praised the cooperation the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and pledged to recommend to his government to end the ban soon.