KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10, (KUNA): The government said Sunday the executive and legislative authorities should start a new phase of cooperation in facing “development challenges and national responsibilities,” in the wake of the vote of confidence granted to His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

The government, in its weekly session chaired by Sheikh Nasser, said the vote of confidence reflected the National Assembly’s desire to cooperate with the prime minister.
The vote also reflected the sound government’s policies to preserving national unity, the social fabric and implementing the law coupled with respecting dignity of citizens and expatriates.
Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Roudhan Al-Roudhan, in a statement following the Cabinet meeting, said “we should all start a new phase full of cooperation” in a drive to addressing development challenges.

The Cabinet, meanwhile, approved draft decrees over cooperation agreements with other countries and referred them to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
The Cabinet approved economic and technical cooperation agreement with Antigua and Barbuda, youth and sports agreement with Morocco, cultural and technical agreement with Argentina, aviation services agreement with Chile, economic and technical agreement with Uruguay, agreement with Cyprus for holders of diplomatic and private passports, economic and technical agreement with Guayana, exempting visa on diplomats and private-passport holders from entry visa for Malta.
Other agreements were commercial cooperation deal with Cuba, mass communication with Tunisia, scientific and technological cooperation with Argentina, a sports MoU with Brazil and e-government MoU with Singapore.

The Cabinet, said Al-Roudhan, approved the 2011-12 budget of the Central Bank of Kuwait.
The council of ministers, on the other hand, took note of messages sent by presidents of Yemen and Benin to His Highness the Amir over bilateral relations.
The ministers took note of letters to the Amir by former British prime minister John Major, former Arab League secretaries-general, Al-Shathili Al-Qulaibi and Ismat Abdulmajeed, and former GCC secretary-general Jameel Al-Hujailan over Kuwait’s celebrations of 50th anniversary of independence and 20th liberation anniversary.
The Cabinet also welcomed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who will be visiting Kuwait tomorrow.