Kuwait calls for cooperation to end disputes

The Kuwaiti Emir inaugurated the new opposition-dominated parliament by calling on MPs and the government to cooperate, end disputes and fend off internal and external dangers.

The Kuwaiti emir on Wednesday inaugurated the new opposition-dominated parliament by calling on MPs and the government to cooperate, end disputes and fend off internal and external dangers.

‘Our country is facing a host of internal challenges and external dangers that are hampering progress... and stalling development,’ Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah told the new parliament elected on February 2 in snap polls.

We must show ‘unity and cooperation to face these dangers and its evils,’ said the emir, referring to ongoing turmoil in several Arab countries.

‘Fending off these dangers should top your list of priorities... and preserving national unity and fighting dissent... should be your most important duty,’ Shaikh Sabah told MPs.

The elections, the fourth in less than six years, that forced former prime minister Shaikh Nasser Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah, to quit in November.

Recognising the growing power of youth, the emir said that he has called for a national conference to focus on the problems and explore solutions to the challenges facing the young people.

Youth groups and activists played an important role in the elections, campaigning for reformist candidates.

The new cabinet is led by Shaikh Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah, a senior member of the Al Sabah ruling family.

Kuwait, which sits on 10 percent of global crude reserves, pumps about 3.0 million barrels of oil daily. It has a population of 1.17 million native Kuwaitis and 2.4 million foreign residents.