KUWAIT: The Cabinet on Monday emphasized the importance of a number of planned development projects that should come to fruition shortly, saying these initiatives need to proceed without any glitches. Chief among these initiatives are major residential projects currently in the works, which aim to meet the housing needs of Kuwaiti nationals, the Cabinet underlined in its weekly meeting. The meeting, chaired by HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, tasked the Public Authority for Housing Welfare with overseeing the completion of the projects.

The Cabinet also referred a draft law on an agreement allowing the transit passage of armed forces between Kuwait and the Republic of Kosovo to HH the Amir, pending its passage through parliament, as per a suggestion by the legal affairs committee headed by Justice Minister Jamal Al-Jalawi. The Cabinet then approved a slew of bilateral deals, including a joint committee for cooperation between Kuwait and Sierra Leone, in addition to an aviation services deal with the Dominican Republic and a memorandum of understating (MoU) with Saudi Arabia over the promotion of direct investment and a separate one on educational cooperation and scientific research.

Other deals approved by the Cabinet include an agreement between Kuwait and Cyprus on the prevention of theft, clandestine excavation and illicit import and export of cultural property, in addition to an environmental cooperation deal with Turkey. An aviation services agreement with Colombia and an MoU between the anti-corruption watchdogs of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were also among the deals given the thumbs up by the Cabinet, while a decree on assigning the new board members of the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) was approved. The Cabinet also discussed current developments on both the local and international levels. - KUNA