KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah chairs the Cabinet’s meeting yesterday. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The Cabinet examined yesterday a proposal by the Ministry of Finance with regards to placing a ceiling for the state budget expenditure, with aim of tightening the belt and pressing ahead with economic development, as well as slashing the budget deficit. The Cabinet charged the ministry with doing whatever necessary to ensure success of the adopted approach for attaining the aspired goals.

This came during the Cabinet's weekly regular session held yesterday at Bayan Palace, and chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. Following the session, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah read a statement saying that the session got started with a briefing about a message addressed to His Highness the Amir from the French president.

The French leader invited His Highness to the ministerial donors' meeting due on March 20th at the Louvre Museum for supporting the International Fund on Endangered Cultural Heritage, to be co-organized by France and the UAE.  The government welcomed a forecast visit to the country by the Pakistani premier, hoping it would contribute to cementing the good ties between the two friendly countries.  Ministers were briefed by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah about outcome of the talks he had held with the UN envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, dealing with international efforts to resolve the crisis in Yemen.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet expressed robust support for the Kingdom of Bahrain in combating terrorism. The Cabinet praised the Bahraini authorities' recent clampdown on a terrorist network comprising 54 persons and confiscating large caches of arms and explosives.

The State of Kuwait re-affirms its stance on side of the brotherly Kingdom of Bahrain and supporting Manama in all measures that it has taken to face the peril of terrorism and wipe it out, according to a statement read following the session.  Such terrorist schemes target not only security of the Kingdom but also security of all other GCC states. Moreover, the Kuwaiti Cabinet urged the international community to exert intensive efforts in facing all forms of terrorism. - KUNA