KUWAIT CITY, July 10, (KUNA): Kuwaiti Cabinet held Sunday its weekly meeting at Seif Palace here, under the chairmanship of His Highness Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
Following the meeting, State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Ali Fahad Al-Rashed made a statement on the meeting’s delibrations and outcome.
He said that Kuwait welcomed South Sudan’s birth and also announced Kuwaiti’s official recognition to that country. The Cabinet was briefed on His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s decree on appointing Abdulwahab Al-Haroun as State Minister for Planning and Development Affairs.
The government welcomed Haroun’s appointment and wished him best performance in his ministry, Al-Rashed said.
The Cabinet was also apprised of Minister of Information and Communications Sami Al-Nesef’s resignation because of health reasons and the Amiri decree on appointing Minister of Electricity and Water Salem Al-Uthayna as acting Information and Communicaitons Minister.
The government expressed gratituted for Nesef’s contributions and wished him good health and quick recovery, the Cabinet Affairs Minister said.

It also welcomed the appointment of Uthayna, wishing him best wishes.
The Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser informed the Cabinet on his successful Gulf tour which included Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Sultanate of Oman.
The tour, which started on July 4 and concluded on July 9, reflected Kuwait’s keenness on consolidating the existing historic bonds with other GCC Arab states, along with cementing the common interets of GCC peoples, and as part of the constant meetings held among the GCC Arab states.
The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to all leaders of the GCC countries for the warm welcome and reception he had along with his accompanying delegation during his tour.
The Premier hailed GCC leaders for their devotion to unity among its members and confrontation to any of the challenges facing them.
For its part, the Cabinet applauded Sheikh Nasser’s GCC tour as an huge addition to the historic ties among GCC member states.

Taking into consideration the Fukushima Daiichi atomic incident in March, the Cabinet announced that the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research is responsible for the peaceful use of nuclear energy instead of the Kuwait’s National Committee for the Uses of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes (NCUNEPP).
The Cabinet reveiwed and approved several bills and Memorandums of Understanding.
These included an agreement between Kuwaiti and Nigerian governments on encouragement and protection of investments, memorandum of understanding between Kuwait and the United States on exempting aircarft operation from income tax, memorandum of understanding between Kuwait and the United Kingdom on cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The Cabinet approved the decision taken recently by the Council of Ministers of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) No. (3 / 85) on the adoption of amendments to some articles of the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company (ASRY).

It also reviewed the recommendations of the Cabinet’s legal committee on approving the memorandum of understanding on the strategic dialogue between the GCC countries and Australia, the agreement between Kuwait and Republic of Serbia on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports, agreeement of cultural and technical cooperation between Kuwait and Swithzerland, memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation to protect and preserve the environment between Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, the agreement on mutual administrative assistance for the correct application of customs legislation and dealing with customs violations between Kuwait and Syria.
The approved bills and MoUs were referred to the Amir Sheikh Sabah for studying and referring to the National Assembly for deliberations.
Finally, the Cabinet discussed the political affairs in light of the reports related to the overall political developments at the Arab and international levels.