Prime Minister patronizes national conference on retirees

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Minister of Finance Nayef Al-Hajraf said yesterday that it is imperative for the society to revise its negative attitude towards the retirees, and to draw upon their experience and skills instead. The minister made the remark while giving a keynote speech during a national conference on retirees, on behalf of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, the sponsor of the event. The conference seeks to attain a set of social and developmental goals by means of re-appointing retirees and capitalizing on their experience and capabilities, he said. It comes at a time when both legislative and executive authorities are putting the final touches on amendments to the social security law, eventually serving this category of society, the minister added. After months of dialogue between the government and members of parliament, changes to the law in question have been granted by both sides, Hajraf added. The National Assembly is set to convene on Tuesday in order to weigh the revised act, he pointed out.

Separately, Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor's acting cooperative inspection manager Abdul Rahman Al-Enezi stressed that retirees form a significant sect of the Kuwaiti society and that they ought to receive utmost care in appreciation of the efforts they had exerted during their years in service. Enezi added that retirees could be re-hired to continue serving Kuwait as employees or board members in private sector establishments supervised by the government, such as co-ops.

Construction expo
In other news, the eighth Industrial and Construction Expo kicked off yesterday with the participation of more than 70 local and international companies specializing in finishing, contracting and residential plots. This annual event is the largest local and regional gathering in the world of construction, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of National Industries Company (NIC) Adel Khaled Al-Subeih said in a keynote speech. The four-day Expo aims to encourage local companies and factories to offer the best products to the local construction market in order to achieve high quality and cost, as well as provide a variety of alternatives for citizens to identify all new products, he added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director General for Planning and Design at Public Authority for Housing Welfare Naser Khraibut said the participation of the Housing Welfare at this Expo comes to support the vision of development plan in planning, design and implementation of suburban and integrated housing cities. The authority seeks to develop urban communities and housing cities facilities and services through sustainable housing policies that provide the required integration between the work environment and modern living accessories, he added.

In the meantime, Executive Manager of Expo Tag Company specialized in organizing exhibitions and conferences said, the construction sector is one of the most important sectors that contribute to Kuwait's development vision. The 'New Kuwait 2035' vision requires the spirit of work and initiative to overcome all the difficulties to establish a solid economic base in the country in order to become a financial center, she noted. This Expo is also a platform for interaction with citizens to learn about the latest developments in the field of building and decorating, and latest in the construction tools industry, she added. - KUNA