Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the State of Kuwait

Wednesday, 15 March 2017

External Affairs

His Highness the Amir receives phone call from French Pres.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received Tuesday a phone call from French President Francois Hollande which focused on bolstering ties. The phone conversation also touched on issues of mutual interests and also on recent happenings within the regional and international domains. (KUNA)

Iraqi Pres. to visit Kuwait soon – official
Iraqi President Fuad Masum is expected to visit Kuwait in the near future, an Iraqi official said on Tuesday. Speaking to KUNA, Advisor to the Iraqi President Hussain Al- Hindawi said that Masum's visit to Kuwait is part of an Arab tour that will also take him to Egypt and other North African nations. Moreover, he noted that the date for the visit has not been set yet, but it is on the horizon. Al-Hindawi also underscored the Iraqi President's eagerness to mend fences with Kuwait, saying that previous meetings between the two Gulf neighbors' leaders had been fruitful and productive. (All Newspapers)

Kuwait rejects proposal to form regional groups in Asian Parliament
The delegation from State of Kuwait participating in the meeting of the Special Committee on Creation of Asian Parliament (SCCAP) in federal capital Islamabad on Tuesday rejected a proposal to form smaller groups of countries in Asian Parliament. The visiting Kuwaiti MP, Dr. Khalil Abdullah Abul in an interview to KUNA after the meeting said: "We have rejected the proposal to divide the Asian countries in smaller political, regional groups. We think the main aim of the parliament is to give equal representation to all the countries in a single parliament and not to divide them in groups," he added. He further said that different countries came up with different opinions on the issue of creation of Asian Parliament and many countries endorsed and supported Kuwait's point. Kuwaiti delegation also raised some critical issues regarding cooperation among the member countries. The delegation pointed out to agreement on the issue of how necessary it would be for a country to follow the decisions of Asian Parliament. (KUNA)

Kuwait labels Syrian crisis world's gravest challenge
Syria's humanitarian crisis is the biggest challenge facing the Arab region and the entire world, a Kuwaiti diplomat said on Tuesday. Kuwait's Permanent Delegate to the United Nations (UN) Ambassador Jamal Al-Ghunaim made the remarks during the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Al-Ghunaim called into question global conscience as "bloodshed remains unabated in Syria", saying that "bold measures are needed to ensure an end to the crisis in a way that fulfills the aspirations of the Syrian people." Moreover, the Kuwaiti diplomat urged increased support for UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura's efforts to reach a political solution to the conflict in Syria. (KUNA)

Domestic Affairs

Al-Dosari Undersecretary for MOI as a Lieutenant General
Al-Qabas knew that Minister of Interior Sh. Khaled Al-Jarrah decided finally assigning Major General Mahmoud Al-Dosari as the Undersecretary of Ministry of Interior as the successor of the retired First Lieutenant General Sulaiman Al-Fahad that was assigned as a counselor for Interior Minister with the rank of minister. Sources said that Al-Jarrah will submit a decree to the Cabinet next week to approve Al-Dosari as an Undersecretary for Ministry of Interior. (Al-Qabas)

His Highness the Amir receives newly appointed ambassadors
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received early Tuesday at Bayan Palace credentials of the newly appointed ambassadors of Guyana, Swaziland, Iraq, Ethiopia, Cameron, and Norway. (All Newspapers)

Kuwaiti FM meets with UN humanitarian official
Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah met with UN Secretary-General's visiting newly appointed envoy for humanitarian affairs Dr. Ahmad Al-Meraikhi at Bayan Palace on Tuesday. . (All Newspapers)

Parliament OKs agreements with world countries
The Kuwaiti National Assembly has approved a set of cooperative agreements between Kuwait and sisterly and friendly countries as well as international agencies. The agreements include a transit deal that was hammered out between the Kuwaiti government and NATO. Responding to a question about the agreement, First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said the State of Kuwait was in the forefront of the countries which joined the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative that aims at maintaining regional security and stability. He stressed the significance of cooperation between Kuwait and 28 countries, saying that Kuwait has cooperated with NATO in various fields, mainly the fight against terrorism and response to natural disasters. "All this cooperation has encouraged Kuwait to host the first NATO center in the region," the minister said, adding that Kuwait's cooperation with NATO came in line with relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled reiterated Kuwait's keenness on providing all types of help to NATO, while stressing the necessity of making use of NATO's experience in the field of training and workshops. The approved agreements also include cooperative deals between Kuwait on the one hand and France, Azerbaijan, Tunisia, Switzerland, Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan on the other hand. . (All Newspapers)

PACI to begin prepaid service for Civil ID cards on March 19
Director General of Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) Musaed Al-Asousi affirmed the keenness of PACI to develop its mechanisms and improve its services in line with latest technologies, whether in its interaction with the public or in the services it offers beneficiaries in both public and private sectors. In a press statement, Al- Asousi revealed PACI’s intention to launch the prepaid service for civil ID cards on Sunday, March 19. He explained that the authority will receive the civil ID charges at the time of application for civil ID card. In case of failure in paying while applying, the process will not be halted but the issuance of the card will be postponed until the payment is made through various points of payment designated by PACI. Failure to pay the required charges as per the new system will lead to penalty. This measure was taken due to accumulation of about 150,000 civil IDs that the owners of which had failed to collect. This means the cost of issuing these cards are not covered directly or indirectly. . (All Newspapers)

Dubai best city for expats in Mideast, Kuwait City 126th
Dubai has again claimed the number one spot for quality of living across the Middle East and Africa region, according to Mercer’s 2017 Quality of Living Survey. The city came in 74th place in the global ranking, making it the region’s top city for the fifth year in a row. Vienna occupies first place for overall quality of living for the 8th year running, with the rest of the top-ten list mostly filled by European cities: Zurich is in second place, with Munich (4), Dusseldorf (6), Frankfurt (7), Geneva (8), Copenhagen (9), and Basel, a newcomer to the list, in 10th place. The only non-European cities in the top ten are Auckland (3) and Vancouver (5). The highest ranking cities in Asia and Latin America are Singapore (25) and Montevideo (79). Dubai (74) continues to rank highest for quality of living across Africa and the Middle East, rising one position in this year’s survey. It is followed closely by the neighboring Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which has climbed three spots since last year’s survey to claim 79th place, which according to Rob Thissen – Mercer’s Middle East Talent Mobility Lead – “is due to improvements in infrastructure.” Kuwait City, is placed at 126th while the Saudi cities Riyadh and Jeddah find themselves further down the ranking at 166 and 169 respectively, Muscat of the Sultanate of Oman at 106, Sana’a (229) in Yemen, Bangui (230) in the Central African Republic, and Baghdad (231) in Iraq are the region’s and world’s three lowest-ranked cities for quality of living. (Arab Times)

MPs approve agreement with NATO
The National Assembly during its regular session Tuesday approved a number of draft laws concerning the agreements between the State of Kuwait and other countries. One of the agreements that was approved during the first and second readings is between the State of Kuwait and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) concerning the transit of troops and members of the alliance. In his response to comments from some MPs on the aforementioned agreement, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al- Sabah said the State of Kuwait is one of the first countries that have joined the Istanbul initiative which sought to see the security and stability of the region in 2004. . (All Newspapers)

Prison suicide under probe, 3 senior officers suspended
Interior Minister Sh. Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah yesterday told the National Assembly that the public prosecution has started an investigation into the suspected suicide of the prisoner who was accused of assaulting jailed opposition figure former MP Musallam Al-Barak last month. The minister said three senior officers have been suspended for three months until investigation into the issue is completed. Last month, Barrak, who is serving his last days of a two-year jail term, was attacked by an inmate serving a jail term for abusing drugs. Barrak escaped unhurt but opposition MPs demanded that the incident be investigated, especially after reports that the attacker was moved to Barrak’s ward at the Cnetral Jail just a few days ago and his transfer was not in line with regulations. (Kuwait Times)

Economy

OPEC basket down 81 cents to USD 49 pb
OPEC daily basket price stood at USD 49 a barrel on Monday, compared with USD 49.81 per barrel the previous Friday, the oil cartel said in a statement. (14/03/2017, KUNA)

Kuwaiti oil barrel down 27 cents at USD 47.79
The price of Kuwaiti oil dropped 27 cents to reach USD 47.79 per barrel on Tuesday, compared to USD 48.06 pb last Monday, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) Wednesday. (KUNA)

Nod to oil price hike in KPC budget
In the quiet session, the Assembly agreed with an overwhelming majority to raise the oil price index in Kuwait Petroleum Corp’s (KPC) budget to $35 a barrel. Several MPs however demanded that the price of oil of KPC’s budget should be raised to $50 a barrel and not $35. The government said the raise came to match the increase in oil prices in recent months. (KUNA)

OPEC basket price up by 2 pct. in Feb.
The OPEC Reference Basket rose in February for the third consecutive month, ending up about two percent to average USD 53.37 per barrel. Crude futures were traded in a relatively narrow range for the second month in a row, OPEC said in its monthly bulletin on Tuesday. High compliance with supply adjustments by OPEC and some non-OPEC producers supported gains. In the crude futures markets, ICE Brent ended one percent higher to average USD 56/b in February and NYMEX WTI increased 1.6 percent to USD 53.46/b. The Brent-WTI spread narrowed at USD 2.53/b, which is supporting arbitrage economics to the US. Speculative activity hit a fresh record high for the third month in a row, providing additional support to oil prices. On the global economic outlook, the report said growth expectations remain at 3.0 percent in 2016 and 3.2 percent in 2017. OECD growth in 2017 is unchanged at 1.9 percent, with growth in US, Euro-zone and Japan seeing no revisions. China is expected to grow by 6.2 percent in 2017, unchanged from the previous report. India is now expected to see a slight deceleration, following a marginal downward revision to 7.0 percent in 2017. Russia's 2017 growth remains at 1.0 percent, while the forecast for Brazil was revised slightly higher to 0.5 percent. Regarding the world oil demand, the report said its growth estimate for 2016 was revised marginally higher by around 50 tb/d to now show growth of 1.38 mb/d to average 95.05 mb/d. Revisions were driven primarily by higher-than-anticipated 4Q-16 oil demand in OECD Europe, and Asia Pacific, as well as China, partially offset by minor downward adjustments in the Middle East. For 2017, oil demand growth is anticipated to be around 1.26 mb/d, higher by 70 tb/d from previous month projections, to average 96.31 mb/d. The upward adjustments were due to more optimistic expectations for oil demand in OECD Europe, as well as Asia Pacific. On world oil supply, the report estimated the non-OPEC supply growth to show a contraction of 0.66 mb/d in 2016, in line with the previous report, to average 57.34 mb/d. Higher 4Q-16 growth in Canada and Other OECD Europe was offset by downward revisions in the US, Norway, Australia, Brunei and Azerbaijan. In 2017, non-OPEC oil supply is projected to grow by 0.40 mb/d, following an upward revision of 0.16 mb/d to average 57.74 mb/d.
An improving outlook for Canadian oil sands and US supply were the main contributors to the revision. OPEC NGLs production in 2017 was revised down by 20 tb/d to now show growth of 0.13 mb/d. In February, OPEC production decreased by 0.14 mb/d, according to secondary sources, to average 31.96 mb/d. (KUNA)

KPC: Information security constitutes major future challenges
Information security is a main challenge in the future in all fields, mainly the oil sector and industrial control systems, said a senior official of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). Information security grows remarkably with the introduction of all sophisticated technology to industrial control systems in Kuwait and other GCC countries, KPC's Deputy Chairman and CEO Nizar Al-Adsani addressed the 3rd edition of Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Cyber Security Conference.
He strongly reiterated support to the role played by high technology in transforming the society and building knowledge-based economy, given that "we are living the age of digital information". However, Al-Adsani pointed out the oil and technology sector views cyber risks as a direct and genuine challenge that should be addressed in a professional manner. He stressed the significance of building an integrated strategy based on three core pillars: defense, deterrence and development. (KUNA)

5% GCC VAT on goods, services by 2018 – Preparation for VAT requires immediate action
xecutive summary On Jan 30, 2017, the Shura Council in Saudi Arabia announced the approval of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Value Added Tax (VAT) Framework Agreement. Officials at the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance have indicated that the VAT regime will be applicable from Jan 1, 2018, and a 5% levy will apply to goods and services as set forth in the GCC agreement. On Feb 1, 2017, Bahrain’s Minister of Finance H.E. Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Khalifa signed the unified GCC VAT Framework Agreement and reaffirmed the expectation that VAT will take effect from Jan 1, 2018, after completion of the due constitutional and legal process. On Feb 12, 2017, Younis Al-Khouri, Undersecretary at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Finance reaffirmed that the GCC governments were planning early simultaneous adoption of VAT with Jan 1, 2018 as the anticipated effective date. These official affirmations are in line with similar pronouncements made by government officials from other GCC Member States. The text of the GCC VAT Framework is expected to be made available shortly and is already being shared by some countries with business leaders in strategic economic sectors. Based on the above developments, businesses should expect that VAT in the GCC region will be a reality from Jan 1, 2018. (For full article kindly refer to: http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/5-gcc-vat-goods-services-2018-preparation-vat-requires-immediate-action/))
(Arab Times)


[Reference]

KUNA: http://www.kuna.net.kw/Default.aspx?language=en

Al Rai: http://www.alraimedia.com/

Kuwait Times: http://www.news.kuwaittimes.net/website/

Arab Times: http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/

MEED: http://www.meed.com/

Al Anbaa: http://www.alanba.com.kw/newspaper