Kuwait's New Cabinet Swears Constitutional Oath at the National Assembly

Members of parliament and Ministers attend a regular session of the Kuwait National Assembly, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 04 January 2022. EPA/Noufal Ibrahim
Members of parliament and Ministers attend a regular session of the Kuwait National Assembly, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 04 January 2022. EPA/Noufal Ibrahim
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Kuwait's New Cabinet Swears Constitutional Oath at the National Assembly

Members of parliament and Ministers attend a regular session of the Kuwait National Assembly, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 04 January 2022. EPA/Noufal Ibrahim
Members of parliament and Ministers attend a regular session of the Kuwait National Assembly, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 04 January 2022. EPA/Noufal Ibrahim

Kuwait's newly-formed government, headed by Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Sabah, took the oath on Wednesday before the National Assembly during its ordinary session.

Following the government's swearing-in, several lawmakers boycotted the session and walked out in protest, including Hamdan al-Azmi, Khaled al-Otaibi, Fares al-Otaibi, Marzouk al-Khalifa, Shoaib al-Muwaziri, Abdul Karim al-Kandari, Badr al-Mulla, Mohammed al-Mutairi, Thamer al-Suwait, Mubarak al-Hajraf, Saleh al-Mutairi, Muhannad al-Sayer, and Saifi al-Saifi.

The government aims to achieve political stability in the country, hoping that reconciliation efforts with the parliamentary opposition will pass an economic reform package during the current legislative term.

Last November, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah accepted the previous government's resignation.

On Nov. 23, Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al-Sabah appointed Sheikh Sabah as prime minister and assigned him to form a new government.

The Kuwaiti constitution stipulates that cabinet ministers who are not members of parliament take the constitutional oath in a session of the National Assembly.

Last week, members of the new Kuwaiti government were sworn in before the Crown Prince at the Bayan Palace, a day after he issued a decree to form the new cabinet headed by Sheikh Sabah.

The National Assembly approved a parliamentary request to allocate two sessions for discussing the Emiri speech.

On January 18 and 19, the Assembly will discuss the government's work program and assign the committee to coordinate the proposals submitted to the committee chairmen to finalize the reports and arrange them for deliberations during the session, according to a statutory timetable.

During the session, the Assembly agreed to ask the public funds' protection committee to discuss why Lebanese banks prevented Kuwait's pension agency from withdrawing two deposits, amounting to over $347 million.

MP Adnan Abdulsamad called to delay the withdrawal because Lebanon is going through a harsh economic situation, and Kuwait has a $4 billion deposit in Egypt. In response, MP Muhalhal al-Mudhaf said that these are public funds and the Kuwaiti people should have them.



UN Supports Saudi-Led Calls for Ceasefire in the Middle East

Stephane Dujarric (AFP)
Stephane Dujarric (AFP)
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UN Supports Saudi-Led Calls for Ceasefire in the Middle East

Stephane Dujarric (AFP)
Stephane Dujarric (AFP)

The United Nations reaffirmed its unwavering support for efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Palestine, Lebanon, and all conflict zones across the Middle East, following the calls made at the Extraordinary Arab and Islamic Summit held in Riyadh on Monday.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that the international organization remains committed to supporting all efforts aimed at de-escalating the situation in the region. This includes working towards a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the unconditional release of all hostages in Gaza, as reported by SPA on Wednesday.
He emphasized that UN Secretary-General António Guterres continues to stress the importance of ending the Israeli occupation and implementing the two-state solution, which is viewed as a fair and lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Arab and Islamic Summit was convened at the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and was chaired by Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.