News Round Up |
Kuwait to nominate envoy to Iraq
The First Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah stated that Kuwait would nominate its envoy to Iraq after a government is formed there. Speaking after a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee for External Affairs, Sheikh Sabah said, “We discussed matters of interest to Kuwait, including our relations with the liberated Iraq”. He also said, “although Kuwait had been asked to participate in the peacekeeping efforts in Iraq, we insisted that a UN Security Council Decision should come before we undertake that role”.
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Visas on hold for SARS states
The Committee set up by the Government of Kuwait to combat SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) suspended granting entry visas to passengers arriving Kuwait from SARS-affected countries. The Committee continues nevertheless to follow procedures like taking temperature of all arriving passengers to the country as a precaution.
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Kuwait Airways introduces new in-flight menu
Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) introduced its all-new in-flight menu for the summer season in the presence its Chairman Ahmad Faisal Al-Zaben and Director General Sheikh Talal Mubarak Al-Sabah. The wide variety of gourmet meals of English, Italian, French and Indian savor prepared by the skilled chefs of KAC and KASCO would be served on all classes of the airlines’ scheduled flights. The new menu gives special attention to children as well as the diabetic and high cholesterol patients among its passengers.
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Ministry of Information to issue entry permits to Iraq.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense has given the authority of issuing entry permits for media personnel who wish to enter Iraq to the Ministry of Information. A reliable source said earlier the General Intelligence Department at Ministry of Defense was thesole authority to issue such permits and control the process of entry and exit of people between Kuwait and Iraq. As the ministry of defense has reduced the alert status of the armed forces, it has referred this task to the Foreign Information Department at Information Ministry.
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American Guidelines for Iraq business.
Private sector involvement will be vital to the success of any reconstruction efforts, an American Embassy press release said. The brief guide describes some of the sources of information available about business opportunities in post war Iraq.
Humanitarian Relief:
Organizations interested in donating supplies and equipment for the immediate humanitarian relief of Iraq can contact any of the numerous non-governmental organizations undertaking that work now. Donations may also be offered through Kuwait Red Crescent Society.
Oil & Gas Sector:
The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the US Government’s ‘executive agent’ for the repair and continuity of operations for Iraq’s oil infrastructure. The USACE has selected a prime contractor Brown & Root Services of Houston, Texas to support their mission in the near term. Brown & Root is being supported in this work by its parent firm Kellogg Brown & Root, which has established a Middle East Regional Support Office in Kuwait.
The USACE intends to tender out other portions of the work as the needs are fully assessed. Companies that wish to be included on a master bidders’ list for such work are advised to contact the US Department of Defense Contractors’ hotline at 4615171. All solicitations for this work will be announced in the internet. http://www.fedbizopps.gov.
USAID Contracts:
The United States Agency for International Development is awarding nine “Master Contracts” for the Iraqi reconstruction. Details of these master contracts, including the full text of the Request for Proposal and updated details on ward status can be found on the USAID Internet website at http://wwwl.usaid.gov/iraq
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Increase in number of women in Government Sector.
A specialized analytical statistics report issued in Kuwait showed that the percentage of employees above the age of 40 in the state’s sectors reached 28 per cent for males and 32 for females till the end of the fiscal year 2002.
Participation of women in the workforce is close to international levels and women aged 40 or less increased in the governmental sector, the statistics showed.
The statistics also showed an increasing number of early retirement of men after the application of the Social Security Scheme in 1977.
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