KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah has agreed to preside over the Supreme Committee for celebrating Kuwait as the capital of Islamic culture for 2016. The committee's membership includes a number of concerned ministers pertinent to the ceremonial program, which runs over a full year.

Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs and President of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah unveiled the news yesterday, saying that the approval of His Highness the Prime Minister to preside over the Higher Committee is a matter which confirms the political leadership's interest in the nation's cultural activities and in highlighting the role of Kuwait in cultural and humanitarian fields as well as its central role in the dissemination of Arab culture and Islamic values.

The idea of the capital of Islamic culture has been founded along the lines of the program launched by the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science (ALECSO) to choose an Arab country every year to be the capital of Arab culture. - KUNA