KUWAIT: Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem (left) speaks with MP Abdullah Al-Traiji during a parliament session at Kuwait’s National Assembly yesterday. KUWAIT: Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem (left) speaks with MP Abdullah Al-Traiji during a parliament session at Kuwait’s National Assembly yesterday.

KUWAIT: The National Assembly yesterday agreed that its bureau will form a team to join several government ministers to study together state subsidies and submit a joint report to the national assembly.

The action came after Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah informed the assembly that the government plans to rationalize subsidies to ensure that they reach those who deserve it and insisted that any measure will not harm low-income people.

The new move comes after the finance minister said the government will take all the recommendations regarding the lifting or reduction of subsidies to the national assembly.

Speaker Marzouk Al-Ghanem also said the government promised him that it will not take any unilateral decision subsidies and stressed that any measures to reduce subsidies to support the budget will not harm low income people.

The issue of reducing subsidies and raising the cost of fuel, electricity and other government services has gained momentum after almost all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states took key steps in this direction.

Four of the six states, including Saudi Arabia, have already increased the price of fuel products and only Qatar and Kuwait have not taken action. Kuwait however has lifted subsidies for diesel and kerosene.

By B Izzak