KUWAIT CITY, March 17, (KUNA): Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah stressed here on Sunday importance of investing in the uses of social networking in order to attain job opportunities for youth and increase their productive abilities, as well as to increase national product.

Sheikh Salman asserted, during his speech at the opening of the first regional forum for social and technological networking 2013, that ideal usage of these networks, which are equipped with telecommunication and media technologies, must be carried out in effective scientific methods on ground, especially in practicing economic, commercial, and scientific activities.

Kuwait is one of the major users of Twitter in the region in accordance with proportionality, the minister said, noting that the world has become a global village as a study indicates that total users of the Internet in the Arab world is around 103 million, while users of mobile phones with social networking applications is around 270 million.

Moreover, he expressed his hope in that the forum attains the general goal and reaches a strategic, scientific, and realistic work plan appropriate with the social environment in region’s countries, stemmming from authentic values and traditions that are derived from sacred Islamic faith.

He wished the forum to come out with recommendations that would serve Arab nations in general, especially Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in order to achieve best usage of modern communication and media tools.

Meanwhile, the “unified media” draft law, which “regulates the role of electronic media and social networking websites on the national scale” has been completed, said Kuwait’s minister of information on Sunday.

“The draft law aims to be the main source of legislation for awareness to receivers of information. This will reflect positively on the use of these forms of media,” Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah told reporters at the opening of the First Technology and Social Networking Forum.

“Placing any regulations or legislations aims primarily to support mediums and media platforms, thus achieving benefit for the society, serving the privacy of the Kuwaiti society and maintaining the sanctity of intellectual property rights,” he added.

Meanwhile, head of the forum Dr. Adnan Al-Sultan said that the event “aims to create a platform for discussion and intellectual enrichment on the importance of social networking sites and their impacts on every aspect of day-to-day life, due to the local as well as international significance of the matter.” The event is set to include a dual-gender discussion forum for the youth community of the Gulf, attended by distinguished guests from the U.S., Australia, Egypt and Jordan, he added.