‘Visit boon to oil strategy’
‘Kuwait-Saudi cooperation vital’
“THE current visit of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to the State of Kuwait is of significant importance, in terms of developing historical relations between the two countries in addition to confirming their joint destiny,” columnist Fahd Dawoud Al-Sabah wrote for Annahar daily.
“Therefore, the focus of the State of Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on files discussed in the visit in terms of uniting the situation on several regional issues is normal, especially that the region in future will witness dramatic changes related to the strategic commodity (oil) underlying the region’s income as a whole.
“Besides, the discussions between the two parties, they shall also concentrate on the other challenges mostly linked to the essence of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) existence and its unity during this sensitive phase.
“As a matter of fact, the unification of the KuwaitiSaudi oil position stems from the fact that Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is facing difficulties in increasing production following the exit of Iran from OPEC when the US sanctions are imposed in November 2018 which shall create a shortage of about 1.8 million barrels per day and this requires the provision of the necessary alternative to respond to the market needs.
“Apart from the above, OPEC at the moment is facing pressure from some international bodies to reduce prices through increasing the global stock and raise the level of export and on this basis, the economic side overshadows any meetings between leaders of the countries concerned.
“Given the above, the economic aspect, shall cover any meetings that are likely to be held among the countries concerned, hence, we wonder, then what will happen if such a meeting is to be held between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which represents the first oil exporter in the world and the State of Kuwait which could be deemed as one of the most important oil exporters in the world.
“Moreover, the two countries currently occupying a distinguished position in the field of the oil industries and them at the moment are having many development projects which require huge financial resources.
“Certainly, this harmony between the Kuwaiti/Saudi policy, in the past and still now has borne fruit for the two countries, as such the unity of destiny between the two countries shall impose and turn in necessary permanent coordination.
“Based on the above, however, necessity entails that this coordination continues at the highest level to contain obstructions and impediments currently facing the region, particularly those related to strengthening cooperation in the economic field in addition to the cooperation in various other fields to achieve the joint developmental objectives of the two countries (the State of Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).
“OPEC is currently facing a big crisis due to lack of the much-needed harmony among the non-OPEC countries. Moreover, the lack of harmony among the OPEC member states themselves, particularly in terms of reaching a unified decision in dealing with the US sanctions imposed on Iran shall negatively affect the oil market.
“In this context, we say in addition to Iran, there is Venezuela which is also currently suffering from economic setbacks that have destabilized its financial position as well as its standard of living.
“However, the world needs to continue the flow of oil in quantities it needs, and the countries will undoubtedly look for alternatives, and cannot abandon the opportunities available in a state of concern such as what is currently happening now – the unstable situation.
“Therefore the joint coordination between the two countries – the State of Kuwait and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – as well as the resumption of the oil output at the joint oil fields between the two countries shall help boost their presence in the oil market.
“Apart from the above, the visit represents also a visit of dear brother, and the son of dear brother to his second home is very dear, who is dear to both the Kuwaiti leadership and the people.
“There is no doubt that based on this official visit; there is no doubt the joint work machinery will be launched in various fields, especially in the oil field.”
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Al-Sabah
“Anyone, who has been watching the social networking sites for two days and before the visit of His Royal Highness the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman immediately recognizes how much the Kuwaiti people love Saudi Arabia and its people and leadership,” columnist Abdurrahman Al-Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“Likewise, he/he she will easily perceive the extent of love which the Saudi people harbor to the State of Kuwait, her leadership and people.
“Why not, we are one people linked to a common destiny and also to one language, and deepen our relations that we are the owners of one religion, and why not because Saudi Arabia the country of Two Holy Mosques because it represents the country that every Arab and Muslim citizen loves.
“But certainly, the characteristics of the relations between the State of Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shall help make these relations unique and deeprooted in the history of the two countries. Moreover, these relations shall constitute an example to be followed when it comes to the Arab/Arab relations.
“As a matter of fact, the reflection of these ideal relations can be perceived through the reaction of the two people via the social media and the volume of welcome that has poured by the Kuwaitis on His Royal Highness the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
“This is also evident in the amount of great responses by the Saudi people which show their love for Kuwait, and leadership.
“Consequently, we can say honestly and faithfully that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have always been, and will always be, a unique symbol of good neighborliness and brotherly relations in the depths of history, one common destiny, and eternal brotherhood.”
“Day after day, I am being convinced that public funds violations have become common, up to the extent of referring to them as ‘loose funds’ rather than public funds,” columnist Professor Dr Ali Al-Zuabi wrote for Al-Shahid daily.
“An officer in the Interior Ministry has KD 30 million while the prices of some real estate properties soared only within 10 years, a bouquet of roses cost thousands of dinars and so on.
“On the other hand, small enterprises are supposed to be ‘developmental’ projects to support the State budget. Nonetheless, they were transformed from small enterprises to beneficiary enterprises.
“Funds are disbursed and spent without any supervision on projects which may kill you because of their naivety and that of the official who gave the green light to implement them.
“Whenever we refer to the current corruption or the previous cases, we are confused. We are in a country with an independent judiciary. We have an auditing bureau, anti-corruption authority, and the most important of all, the National Assembly which is supposed to play a supervisory role on the performance of State systems and authorities.
“Apart from the above, we have a Cabinet that is supposed to manage State institutions strictly and transparently. However, it seems we do not enjoy any of the aforementioned.”
“Last Tuesday, Spain’s Minister of Health Carmen Montón stepped down due to a scandal related to her master’s degree amid the spread of news that she manipulated the certificate which she received from one of the universities in Madrid,” Zayed Al-Zaid wrote for AlNahar daily.
“When I read this news in detail, I remembered my country and the fake certificate scandal which came to light recently, as well as the administration and financial scandals that happen in every corner of this country but we forget about them every time we hear about another similar scandal. This happens despite the formation of fact-finding committees which never find a breakthrough in their investigations due to their flimsy ways of presentation of the issues to the concerned authorities.
“In this year alone, we heard several scandals related to misappropriation of the public funds, for which perhaps the fact-finding committees were formed. However, despite all these allegations, which remain as allegations due to lack of proper investigational outcome, not a single person has been held responsibility. No one decided to step down to pave way for investigation. Perhaps, the fake certificate scandal continues to be a forgotten scandal just like other scandals which occur in this country.”
“It’s a known fact that the financial sector or commercial sector is the nucleus of the economy in any country that seeks a prominent place in the region through economic reform and relevant laws that will facilitate development and pave the way for foreign investors to start their businesses,” columnist Hamed Al-Saif wrote for Annahar daily.
“A country that seeks the aforementioned status should provide facilities that are not available in neighboring countries. Is Kuwait capable of achieving the status of international financial and commercial hub? We must know the limits of our abilities and accept our shortcomings.
“We live in a State without a clear-cut economic identity, and remain content dealing with the day to day responses to economic and financial issues. We have been playing professional politics that actually aggravate commercial and economic issues. These issues remain at the bottom of the list of State priorities. How can our country be an international financial and commercial center? We have wasted many chances and keep echoing the idea of making Kuwait an international financial center while oblivious of what we really want. As long as we remain in the box, we will gain nothing but losses.”
“Over the past few days, the Kuwaiti street has been abuzz with talks on fake diplomas and degrees especially the higher degrees such as university education, master’s and PhDs,” Kuwaiti writer and plastic artist Adel Fahd Al-Mish’al wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“I was surprised with the reaction because the issue is not new. Many people reacted as if they do not know anything. I do not find any justification for such action, considering that in more than one session in any Kuwaiti diwaniya, there are conversations about many issues like drug addiction among some youths, spinsterhood, reluctance of youths to get married, poor academic output, housing problem, and high prices of real estates among other urgent issues affecting a citizen’s life.
“The government did well in taking legal action but it is necessary to disclose the identities of those involved in forgery and hold them accountable including those who received money after being promoted based on their doctorate degrees. They must refund the money they received illegally. This applies to all Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis who are still in their posts despite their involvement in the scandal.”
“The World Heart Day, which is set by World Health Organization (WHO) for spreading awareness of cardiovascular diseases and taking appropriate protective measures, falls on Sept 29 every year,” Dr Hind AlShoumar wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“Kuwait Heart Association, along with the rest of the world, celebrates this occasion by organizing a number of activities for the society. The blood pressure, weight, height, body mass index, sugar level and fat in the blood of people are examined via mobile units.
“This move aims at highlighting the role of NGOs and civil society organizations to carry out successful health awareness programs and initiatives that may not be carried out by governmental entities due to lack of time or capabilities.
“This year, the celebration of World Heart day will be one step higher, as an important meeting will be in New York City. This is the third meeting of the United Nations to affirm the commitment of all the countries around the world to enhance protection from chronic diseases and bad habits such as smoking, obesity, lack of physical activities and exercises, unhealthy diet and other such factors that are responsible for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and respiratory diseases.”
“Some accounts on social media are keen to publish a video clip named ‘The launch of reform train’ in the era of the current Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Hamid Al-Azmi,” Abdulaziz Khuraibet wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“This video clip has a number of photographs of the minister as well as headlines of many local newspapers with background music. The first set of headlines include ‘Start of fighting malpractice’, ‘Reform scholarships’, ‘Pursuing fake certificates’, ‘Exclusion of Education from policy’, ‘Fighting corruption in the education system’, and ‘Elimination of fake success’.
“These are followed by a second set of headlines which include ‘Most dangerous education decision in 30 years’, ‘Investigation with top officials and their suspension from work’ and ‘Non-readiness of schools for the new academic year’.
“The third set of headlines are ‘Planning for the future’, ‘Develop the curricula’, ‘Improve the school educational system’, and ‘Taking care of the talented students – scientist of the future”.
“The reality is that we need actual and important reforms to develop the curricula and education system as well as create a spirit of scientific and digital competition and follow up the changes.”
— Compiled by Zaki Taleb