KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20, (KUNA): The Cabinet, in its weekly meeting Sunday, approved in principle creation of free trade zones in the north and south of Kuwait, as well as agreeing the establishment of Media City Company.
The Cabinet, chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, assigned municipality to provide lots for free trade zones close to air and land ports.
Minister of Commerce and Industry Ahmad Al-Haroun, in a statement to KUNA after the Cabinet meeting, said the municipality would propose locations for the trade zones in a month’s time.
He said the creation of free trade zones was part of plans to transform Kuwait into a financial and commercial hub.
The Cabinet also approved the establishment of Media City Company and offered 26 percent of its capital for public subscription. The Council of Ministers also assigned municipality to allocate a million square-meter lot for the company, Minister of Communications and Minister of State for Parliament Affairs Dr Mohammad Al-Busairi said in a statement after the Cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet also approved in principle to form a committee tasked with establishing a research holding company with a KD 10 million capital ($35.4 million). The holding firm will create three technology companies to produce and market researches and products of Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR).
The executives agreed to establish health insurance companies and to involve private sector to providing health care services, said Al-Busairi, part of application of health insurance in Kuwait.
The Cabinet, meanwhile, took note of instructions of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to deputize Sheikh Nasser to a ceremony held by former US president George Bush to mark the 20th anniversary of the Peninsula Shield Operation and the Liberation of Kuwait. The ceremony, due next Jan 20, will be held in Bush School for Political Science in Texas University.
The Cabinet also took note of a message to the Amir from UN Secretary-General Ban ki-moon over the final report of the high-level advisory group related to the UN climate Change agreement.
It also took note of letters to His Highness the Amir from Moroccan King Mohammad VI, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and the Presidents of Senegal and Benin, dealing with ways of boosting bilateral relations.
In another development, the Cabinet approved a decree renewing term of Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor Mohammad Al-Kandari for another four years.
Minister of Public Works, acting Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and acting Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr Fadhel Safar made the announcement in a statement to KUNA after the weekly Cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet has also extended the term of Deputy Director General of the Public Authority for Youth and Sport (PAYS) Essam Jaafar at the degree of assistant undersecretary for four years, Safar disclosed.
Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Works for Legal Affairs Humoud Al-Dawai got his term renewed for a similar period, the minister added.