Kuwait’s High Costs for Qatar Expo 2023 Participation Spark Inquiry

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KUWAIT CITY, Oct 12: MP Hassan Jawhar has called upon the relevant ministers especially the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Saad Al-Barrak to launch an investigation into the participation of Kuwait in the International Horticulture Expo 2023 held in Qatar. The lawmaker revealed that he received information about the cost of the Kuwaiti participation ranging between KD 3 million and KD 4 million, thus making it the most expensive among the other 80 participating countries. Jawhar said, “Even though the Doha Expo 2023 was inaugurated on October 2, 2023, the Kuwaiti booth has not yet been completed, and the members of the Kuwaiti delegation are not around.”

He said he also wondered about the reason behind the absence of a Kuwaiti media team to cover the event and promote the Kuwaiti achievements. Jawhar affirmed that this issue represents an important part of the oversight role of the parliament, indicating that he will follow up on the procedures to be taken. He revealed that he would submit parliamentary questions to the relevant ministers, adding that it may require a specific fact-finding committee to be formed.

Furthermore, MP Hamdan Al-Azmi called upon the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and the Minister of Information Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi to open an investigation into the error committed by KUNA in citing a map drawn by the British traveler W.G. Palgrave in his book titled “Central and Eastern Arabia”.

Al-Azmi explained that the map has shown one-third of Kuwaiti space to be part of Saudi Arabia. This map was included in a report of KUNA on Abdullah Bay, but it has nothing to do with the defined and internationally accredited borders between Kuwait and Iraq. In addition, MP Fayez Al-Jomhour submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and State Minister of Communications Affairs Fahad Al-Shoula about the number of telecommunication towers in the country, and their locations. He asked if the telecommunication companies had obtained the approvals of the relevant institutions including the Department of Radiation Protection at the Ministry of Health, and the Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) to install mobile towers on the rooftops of private houses and cooperative societies.

Al-Jomhour said he wanted copies of the issued licenses in this regard, as well as the list of mobile towers that were installed without obtaining the relevant licenses. He asked about the procedures taken by Kuwait Municipality against the violating companies for exposing citizens’ health to danger. Al-Jomhour also asked if there are specific inspection teams assigned to find the violations and if yes, he wanted copies of their reports on the telecommunications towers. The lawmaker wanted to know if any decisions have been issued by the Council of Ministers to follow up on the violations of telecommunication companies; if yes, he wanted a copy of those decisions.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff

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