KUWAIT CITY, July 19, (KUNA): The Kuwait Cabinet convened its weekly meeting on Monday at Al-Seif Palace presided by Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
After the meeting, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Roudhan Abdelaziz Al-Roudhan gave a brief statement on the discussions and decisions of the meeting.
The minister said the first item was a letter addressed to His Highness the Crown Prince by head of the CRANS Montana Forum to attend the 12th Yearly Session of the International Summit on Transnational Crime on the theme of “Public and Corporate Governance facing Terrorism, Organized Crime, and lack of Ethics.” The event is due in Geneva Oct 27-30.
As part of Cabinet effort to counter corruption, and honoring the state’s obligations as dictated by international agreements and the agreements signed by the Finance Ministry and the World Bank, the ministers reviewed a memo by the Government Bodies Assessment Agency. The document reviewed steps taken on implementation of UN agreements on countering corruption and steps needed for further action in this area.
Head of the Agency, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah reviewed details of future steps, including drafting legislation for free trade of information, for avoiding conflict of interest and civil service code of ethics, for declaration of financial status, and for protection of informants.
Work is also needed, he said, to fine-tune and finalize recommendations in the tenders and procurement assessment report, on conducting public surveys for views on corruption, for assessment of the legal and institutional framework for countering corruption, and issue of a report on the findings after the last step.
The Cabinet hailed the progress made on these fronts, and instructed the agency to continue to cooperate with state bodies to complete future steps.
The ministers also reviewed a draft decree giving approval for hike in capital to National Bank of Kuwait. The Cabinet passed the draft and forwarded it to His Highness the Amir.
This was in addition to discussion over the latest regional and international political developments.