Kuwaiti Government’s Disputes Referred to Public Prosecution

A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice (court house) in Kuwait City June 16, 2013. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee
A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice (court house) in Kuwait City June 16, 2013. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee
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Kuwaiti Government’s Disputes Referred to Public Prosecution

A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice (court house) in Kuwait City June 16, 2013. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee
A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice (court house) in Kuwait City June 16, 2013. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee

A dispute between members of the Kuwaiti government, who are also leading parts of the ruling family, came into the open Saturday after being referred to the Public Prosecution over the shortcoming of fighting corruption and the misappropriation of public money.

For the first time in Kuwait’s history, the defense and interior ministers clashed in public by issuing statements attacking each other.

On Saturday, reports said that the Sabah family is expected to meet to contain the dispute between resigned Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, caretaker Defense Minister Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and caretaker Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah.

In a statement posted on the army’s Twitter account, Defense Minister Sheikh Nasser said he discovered embezzlements of 240 million Kuwaiti dinars from the Kuwaiti army fund when Sheikh Khaled was the minister.
Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah was the defense minister between 2013 and 2016.

He became an interior minister after the appointment of Sheikh Nasser in late 2017 as a defense minister.

Sheikh Nasser said he had asked the prime minister to take action against the embezzlements.

The Defense Minister said the PM responded by setting an investigation committee to probe the allegations, however, this was not satisfactory to him and accordingly, he sent the issue to the public prosecution.

For his part, the Interior Minister lashed back at the accusations and denied that he committed any financial violation regarding the fund.

Sheikh Khaled said he was ready to stand trial in the Kuwaiti judiciary to prove his innocence for both, the political leadership and the Kuwaiti people.

On Thursday, Kuwait’s Cabinet has resigned after Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak has tendered the government’s resignation to the country’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad. 


“The resignation of the Cabinet was not to give time to allow reshuffling the Cabinet but to avoid answering questions over the graft in the army fund,” Sheikh Nasser said, commenting on the issue.



Saudi, Thai Foreign Ministers Co-Chair First Saudi-Thai Coordination Council Meeting

The convening of this meeting underscores the advancing relations between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Thailand - SPA
The convening of this meeting underscores the advancing relations between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Thailand - SPA
TT

Saudi, Thai Foreign Ministers Co-Chair First Saudi-Thai Coordination Council Meeting

The convening of this meeting underscores the advancing relations between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Thailand - SPA
The convening of this meeting underscores the advancing relations between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Thailand - SPA

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Maris Sangiampongsa co-chaired the first meeting of the Saudi-Thai Coordination Council in Bangkok on Thursday.
The convening of this meeting underscores the advancing relations between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Thailand, aiming to enhance coordination and collaboration across various sectors to fulfill the aspirations of both nations' leaders and peoples. This aligns with the shared objectives of the Saudi-Thai Coordination Council, focusing on enhancing cooperation, connectivity, and integration between the two countries through the council and its subcommittees in areas such as politics, security, defense, energy, economy, investment, education, culture, tourism, and other mutual interests, SPA reported.
During the meeting, the co-chairs reviewed the bilateral relations and emphasized the significance of sustained joint efforts between the two friendly nations. They expressed contentment with the outcomes of the committee sessions, which produced over 70 joint initiatives spanning various fields.
They highlighted the importance of upholding and advancing the council's work and collaboration among its committees while reinforcing coordination to amplify its effectiveness as an institutional mechanism framing bilateral cooperation. They also underscored the importance of implementing the recommendations and initiatives of the committee heads with the support of the council's general secretariat, looking forward to the upcoming second council meeting in Saudi Arabia.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the two ministers signed the minutes of the first meeting of the Saudi-Thai Coordination Council.
Following the meeting, the two sides signed a cooperation program between the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented by the Prince Saud Al-Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies, and the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented by the Devawongse Varopakarn Institute of Foreign Affairs (DVIFA).