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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021 / JUMADA AL THANI 28, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17610 16 PAGES 150 FILS

tennis

marketsPage 16 Page 10

Iran may go nuke

UAE Hope orbits Mars in Arab firstAssist from University of Colorado, Boulder

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb 9, (AP): A spacecraft from the United Arab Emir-ates swung into orbit around Mars on Tuesday in a triumph for the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission.

Mission controllers at the UAE’s space center in Dubai announced that the unmanned craft, called Amal, Ara-bic for Hope, reached the end of its nearly seven-month, 300-million-mile journey and began circling the Red Planet, where it will gather detailed data on Mars’ atmosphere.

The orbiter fired its main engines for 27 minutes in an intricate, high-stakes maneuver that slowed the craft enough for it to be captured by Mars’ gravity.

After the engine firing, it took a nail-biting 15 minutes or so for the signal confirming success to reach Earth. Ground controllers rose their feet and broke into applause. Tensions were high: Over the years, Mars has been the graveyard for a multitude of missions from various countries.

Two more unmanned spacecraft from the U.S. and China are following close behind, set to arrive at Mars over the next several days. All three missions were launched in July to take advantage of the close alignment of Earth and Mars.

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9, (Agencies): Kuwait said 1,002 people tested posi-tive for coronavirus with six related deaths reported on Tuesday taking the to-tal cases up to 172,996 as deaths increased to 975 re-spectively, according to the health ministry.

The number of people hospitalized with the virus currently stands at 9,310, with 96 of them in inten-sive care units, according to ministry spokesman Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad, who revealed that some 10,271 swab tests were conducted over the last day out of a to-tal of 1,618,576.

He went on to urge nation-als and expatriates alike that abiding by health precau-tions, mainly, following so-cial distancing rules, is the only way to halt the spread of the virus.

The ministry had earlier reported that some 591 more people had been cured of the virus over the past day, raising the total of those to have over-come the disease to 162,711.

Kuwait’s Ministry of In-terior (MoI) announced on Tuesday that the Public Se-curity Force (PSF) will pro-vide all forms of security support to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and health regulations teams, through inspection tours and campaigns to implement the Council of Ministers’ deci-sion of closing shops and commercial malls.

This support came as a quick response to the Coun-cil of Ministers’ decisions circulation at the security directorates in the county’s governorates, the Informa-tion and Media department at MoI mentioned in a press statement.

The security teams will of-

fer the required assistance to responsible bodies between 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. and to prevent any form of social gathering or rallies, to ham-per the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19), it added.

The PSF allocates female officers’ teams and support security teams in each securi-ty directorate throughout the six governorates, it added.

It called on citizens and expatriates to cooperate with security personnel and to in-form the Ministry about any public or private gatherings, to maintain and protect pub-lic health, and combat spread of Covid-19.

In light of the strict pro-cedures adopted by the Council of Ministers and the health authorities to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and its variants, the concerned authorities are paying special atten-tion to tents built on or off the beaches and along the sea shores of Kuwait which now fall under tight control to prevent any gatherings ir-respective whether they are on land, sea or elsewhere, reports Al-Rai daily.

The director of the Clean-ing and Road Works Depart-ment at the Jahra Municipali-ty Branch, Fahd Al-Quraifah, told the daily “the law is clear, and gathering in one place is not permitted. There-fore, everyone must coop-erate with the government authorities and show their understanding of the proce-dures, especially since the process is temporary.

In this regard, he pointed to the role of the Municipal-ity’s monitoring teams to fol-low up those who venture out for leisure and and apply the laws and decisions issued by the Council of Ministers and the health authorities.

Count defies clampdown

COVID cases top 1,000

TEHRAN, Iran, Feb 9, (AP): Iran’s intelligence minister warned the West that his country could push for a nuclear weapon if crippling international sanc-tions on Tehran remain in place, state television reported Tues-day.

The remarks by Mahmoud Alavi mark a rare occasion that a government official says Iran could reverse its course on the nuclear program. Tehran has long insisted that the program is for peaceful purposes only, such as power generation and medical research.

A 1990s fatwa, or religious edict, by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei states that nuclear weapons are forbidden.

In developing Amal, the UAE chose to collaborate with more experienced partners instead of going it alone or buying the spacecraft elsewhere. Its engi-neers and scientists worked with researchers at the University of Colorado, the University of Cal-ifornia at Berkeley and Arizona State University.

The spacecraft was as-sembled at Boulder, Colorado, before being sent to Japan for launch last July.

The car-size Amal cost $200 million to build and launch; that excludes operating costs at Mars. The Chinese and U.S. expeditions are considerably more complicated - and expen-sive - because of their rovers. NASA’s Perseverance mission totals $3 billion.

The UAE, a federation of sev-en sheikhdoms, is looking for Amal to ignite the imaginations of the country’s scientists and its youth, and help prepare for a future when the oil runs out.

“This mission was never about just reaching Mars,” said Omran Sharaf, Amal’s project manager. “Mars is just a means for a much bigger objective.”

Amal’s arrival puts the UAE in a league of just five space agencies in history that have pulled off a functioning Mars mission. As the country’s first venture beyond Earth’s orbit, the flight is a point of intense pride for the oil-rich nation as it seeks a future in space.

An ebullient Mohammed bin Zayed, the UAE’s day-to-day ruler, was on hand at mission control and said: “Congratu-lations to the leadership and people of the UAE for the in-describable joy of the arrival at Mars.”

ComplexityAbout 60% of all Mars mis-

sions have ended in failure, crashing, burning up or other-wise falling short in a testament to the complexity of interplan-etary travel and the difficulty of making a descent through Mars’ thin atmosphere.

A combination orbiter and lander from China is sched-uled to reach the planet on Wednesday. It will circle Mars until the rover separates and attempts to land on the surface in May to look for signs of an-cient life.

A rover from the U.S. named Perseverance is set to join the crowd next week, aiming for a landing Feb. 18. It will be the first leg in a decade-long U.S.-European project to bring Mars rocks back to Earth to be examined for evidence the planet once harbored micro-scopic life.

If it pulls this off, China will become only the second country to land successfully on Mars. The U.S. has done it eight times, the first almost 45 years ago. A NASA rover and lander are still working on the surface.

For the UAE, it was the country’s first venture beyond Earth’s orbit, making the flight a matter of intense national pride.

For days, landmarks across the UAE, including Burj Khal-ifa, the tallest tower on Earth, glowed red to mark Amal’s an-ticipated arrival. This year is the 50th anniversary of the coun-try’s founding, casting even more attention on Amal.

The celestial weather station aimed for an exceptionally high Martian orbit of 13,670 miles by 27,340 miles (22,000 kilometers by 44,000 kilometers). It was set to join six spacecraft already op-erating around Mars: three U.S., two European and one Indian.

Amal had to perform a high-stakes series of turns and engine firings to maneuver into orbit and achieve what has eluded so many before.

“Anything that slightly goes wrong and you lose the space-craft,” said Sarah Al-Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology and the chair of the UAE’s space agency.

The success represents a tre-mendous boost to the UAE’s space ambitions. The country’s first astronaut rocketed into space in 2019, hitching a ride to the International Space Sta-tion with the Russians. That’s 58 years after the Soviet Union and the U.S. launched astro-nauts.

Photo by Claudia Farkas Al RashoudThis tinsmith from Iran has been working in the Souk Safafeer for forty years. About the size of a city block, Souk Safafeer is comprised of a series of parallel alleys with small stalls where a

vast array of tin items are manufactured and sold. – See Page 2

Sarah Al-Amiri, Emirati Minister of State for Advanced Sciences and Deputy Project Manager of the Emirates Mars Mission speaks ahead of a live broadcast of the Hope probe as it attempts to enter Mars orbit as a part of Emirates Mars mission, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Feb 9. Inset: Emiratis celebrate after the Hope probe enters Mars orbit on Tuesday. The spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates

swung into orbit around Mars in a triumph for the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission. It is the first of three robotic explorers arriving at the Red Planet over the next week and a half. (AP)

Opinion

Salman, the King Lukman of his eraBy Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

A man came to the wise Lukman with a sheep, asked him to slaughter it, and give him the most delicious part of the sheep. Lukman gave him the tongue and the heart of the slaughtered sheep.

The next, the same man came with another sheep and requested Lukman to slaughter it. However, this time he asked him to give him the most mali-cious part of the sheep. Lukman gave him the tongue and the heart of the slaughtered sheep. This astonished the man and left him eager for explanation.

Lukman told him, “There is nothing better than the tongue and the heart if they are good, and there is nothing more malicious than them if they are evil”.

Lukman said this in the presence of the son as he wanted to teach him a les-son in wisdom and leadership.

I recalled this story as I was follow-ing the decisions of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman regard-ing the development of the legislative environment that represents a new wave of reforms and a basic pillar for achieving principles of justice that draw clear borders of responsibility, and stabilizing the systemic reference

in a way that limits individuality in the issuance of judgments.

This is due to the fact that the law and the consolidation of justice are the best tools in the power of nations.

This paradigm shift in the provisions and legislation is the correct way for the development of any country. Saudi Ara-bia launched this revolution with the be-ginning of the reign of King Salman bin Abdulaziz, fully realizing that the law is the basis for the development of a society.

In the past, judgments were issued according to the judge’s views. Law-yers would often say, “The verdict depends on the mood of the judge”, and not on the presented evidence and documents. This demeanor served as a major obstacle to the foreign invest-ment movement in Saudi Arabia.

Naturally, investors seek a safe, and low-risk environment, but all this began to change a few years ago when Saudi Arabia began to regain the bright face that the puritanicals and the Muslim Brotherhood Group, when they were in control of its institutions, tried to ob-scure. They portrayed Saudi Arabia as a backward state based on the principle of punitive actions which lacked legal mer-its. This blemished its image worldwide.

There is no doubt that the radical change is based on realistic convic-

tions, which was expressed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he stressed on “updating and reform-ing the systems that preserve rights, entrench principles of justice, trans-parency, protection of human rights, achieve comprehensive development, and enhance Saudi Arabia’s competi-tiveness globally through procedural and objective institutional references”.

Definitely, this will have positive ef-fects on the economy, the society and Saudi Arabia’s relations with the world, which witnesses a great development on a daily basis in Saudi Arabia’s vision as well as its regional and international role.

Indeed, history will record that the era of King Salman bin Abdulaziz is the era of renaissance. If the founding of the third Saudi state began a hundred years ago with King Abdulaziz, today it enters with the Luqman of the modern era a new hundred years based on mo-dernity, which is proceeding at a steady pace with his directives, and with the tireless work of his young crown prince.

Email: ahmed@aljarallah.com

Follow me on:

ahmedaljarallah@gmail.com

ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021 2

By Claudia Farkas Al RashoudSpecial to the Arab Times

The sound of hammering and drilling rings out in an old ram-shackle warren of workshops known as Souk Safafeer, or the Coppersmiths Market. It’s also called Souk Al Tenaka, or the Tin Market. About the size of a city block, it’s comprised of a series of parallel alleys with small stalls where a vast array of tin items are manufactured and sold. Located in Sharq, just a stone’s throw away from the futuristic skyscrapers of Kuwait City, it is an en-clave of old Kuwait featuring traditional merchandise that is still sought-after today.

On this chilly morning, for example, some customers are shop-ping for a douwa, a metal brazier in which charcoal is burned. In days gone by it was the focal point around which the family would gather in Kuwaiti homes in cold winter weather.

I have fond memories of my mother-in-law sitting cross-legged on a Persian carpet in the living room in front of the douwa, roast-ing chestnuts and sweet potatoes in the glowing coals. There would also be a steaming pot of fragrant black cardamom-fl avored tea with milk on the douwa. All connoisseurs of chai-haleeb agree that this popular winter beverage tastes better when brewed on char-coal. Adding to the enjoyment of gathering around the douwa were the old folk tales told by my mother-in-law: stories of spirits known as jinn and other beings that went bump in the long dark nights of old Kuwait.

Nostalgia doubtless fuels the shoppers’ desire for such tradition-al objects as the douwa, but the brazier is still a functional item, providing warmth for cozy outdoor gatherings at home or in the de-sert. The old-style rectangular model, made of plain tin or adorned with studs, is available alongside intricately-decorated braziers in different shapes and colors. There are also small square models just big enough for a single teapot, used for individual customers in outdoor cafes like the ones in Mubarakiya Market.

Sturdy rectangular tin trunks in different sizes are another best-seller. An Indian man is buying one to fi ll with household goods and foodstuff to send home by sea cargo. In the past the trunks were popular for storing carpets, bedding, winter clothes and other things that need to be protected from mice and moths.

There are also large round tin containers, in thirty, forty and fi fty kilo storage capacity, referring to the amount of rice they can hold. They were once common in all local homes to safeguard rice, len-tils, and other dry goods from moisture, as well as weevils, cock-roaches, and other pests.

I watch an elderly Iranian man making just such a container. He alternately hammers and welds the circular base, sending sparks fl ying. He has been working in the market for forty years, he says, and not much has changed here except for the surroundings.

Abu Ali, also from Iran, tells me he came to work in the tin mar-ket in 1960, when he was just a boy, and over the years he learned this specialised craft. In the old days they used to make many items from copper, he says, but now it’s too expensive and only tin is used.

“When I fi rst started working here this was a very remote place. There was nothing around except for some warehouses where wood was stored. There weren’t even any roads. It wasn’t until later that the car mechanics and garages came to this area,” he recalls.

None of the tinsmiths know exactly how old this souk is. Those who wager a guess think it has been in existence for about seventy years. Kuwait’s original tin and copper market was in Mubarakiya, where there are still a few small shops where tin items are sold but they are no longer made there.

This particular souk is unique in Kuwait in that it’s the only mar-ket where you can actually see the wares being made on site. A tinsmith sits on the fl oor, slicing long strips of tin with a big knife. In the workshop next door, two men work with a drill and pliers, holding the bright red base of a round douwa between their knees. Further down the alley, a tinsmith sits in front of a large, ancient-looking machine that irons panels of tin, making them completely fl at.

These craftsmen will even take custom orders. I recall the inci-dent of some friends who were working as prop masters for a local theatre group years ago. They needed a specifi c type of elaborate-ly-decorated sword to be used by an actor in one of their plays. They searched all over Kuwait and couldn’t fi nd anything suitable, so I suggested they have the sword made in the tin souk. The result was excellent and the price very reasonable.

Abu Ali relates that Kuwait used to be well-known for the qual-ity and variety of tin items made here, especially the sturdy tin trunks, and in the old days, people from all over the Gulf used to come to shop here. Not surprisingly, the tinsmiths say that business isn’t what it used to be, and of course sales in the market have also

been adversely affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Nevertheless, there is still some demand for the items manufactured here, and still small profi ts to be made from this age-old craft.

If you’d like to visit the souk, it’s listed as Ironmonger Market in Google maps. It’s locat-ed in between Shaheed Park and Centrepoint department store.

Safafeer

Main picture: Sparks fl y as a metal storage container is welded in a traditional workshop. Not far away are the towering skyscrapers of Kuwait City. This tinsmith from Iran has been working in the souk for forty years. Inset left to right: A round douwa. Braziers for burning charcoal come in a wide variety of colors and designs. Just a stone’s throw away

from futuristic skyscrapers, Souk Safafeer is an enclave of old Kuwait.

ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021 3

Fajr ........ 05:11Sunrise .. 06:33Zohr ....... 12:02

Asr .......... 15:10Maghrib... 17:33 Isha ........ 18:51

Prayer TimingsExpected weather for the next 24 hours:

By Day: Warm and partly cloudy with light to moderate north westerly wind with speeds of 15-35 km/h.

By Night: Rather cold and partly cloudy with light to mod-

erate north westerly wind to wind with speeds of 06-26 km/h.Station Max Exp Min Rec Kuwait City 24 15Kuwait Airport 24 10Abdaly 24 11

Bubyan 21 17Jahra 25 12Salmiyah 23 16Ahmadi 22 15Nuwaisib 24 13Wafra 24 12Salmy 21 09

Weather

VACCINE REGISTRATION WEBSITE: https://cov19vaccine.moh.gov.kw/SPCMS/CVD_19_Vaccine_Registration.aspx

Mabanee Co scales 19 fils, Kuwait Finance House eases

Kuwait market ekes modest gains in volatile trade, volume dipsBy John MathewsArab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: Kuwait stocks pulled modestly higher on Tuesday partly recouping last session’s losses. The All Shares Index climbed 12.85 points in a volatile session to 5,716 pts paced by some of the heavyweights even as the broader sentiment remained mixed.

The Premier Market sprinted 18.74 pts to 6,240.11 points paring month’s losses to 67 points while Main Market was little changed at 4,684.42 points. The BK Main 50 index ticked 1.15 points higher to 4,849.11 pts. The volume turnover meanwhile dipped below the 400 mil-lion mark. Over 368 million shares changed hands – down 16 pct from the day before.

The sectors closed mostly in green turf. Technology outperformed the rest with 4.25 per-cent gain whereas Oil and Gas shed 0.80 pct, the biggest loser of the day. Financial Services contin-ued to top in both volume and value with 227.9 million shares traded for KD 14.99 million.

In the individual shares, National Bank of Kuwait clipped 2 fils to close at 840 fils and Kuwait Finance House followed suit to end at 723 fils after trading over 6 million shares. Mabanee Co galloped 19 fils to 680 fils while

National Industries Group scaled 4 fils on back of 11.6 million shares rose 198 fils.

Zain inched 1 fil higher to 633 fils after push-ing 1.7 million shares while Ooredoo was up 8 fils at 685 fils. stc gave up 5 fils before settling at 942 fils and logistics major Agility sprinted 6 fils to 749 fils. Humansoft Holding dialed down 2 fils and Boursa Kuwait Securities followed suit to end at KD 1.157.

The market opened firm and spiked briefly in early trade. The main index vacillated in a broad range before slipping into red as senti-ment turned sour. It plumbed the day’s lowest level of 5,698 pts ahead of the mid-session and pushed higher in choppy trade. It moved side-ways in the second half and revved up in the final minutes before closing with modest gains.

Top gainer of the day, FutureKid soared 9.92 pct to 73.1 fils while Munshaat scaled 6.96 pct to stand next. ALOLA skidded 5.52 percent, the steepest decliner of the day and the counter also topped the volume with 65.7 million shares.

Despite the day’s gains, the market spread was even. 57 stocks advanced and same number of equities closed lower. Of the 134 counters active on Tuesday, 20 closed flat. 10,685 deals worth over KD 41 million were transacted dur-ing the session.

In the banking sector, Gulf Bank stood pat at 218 fils and Burgan Bank too did not budge from its earlier close of 220 fils after pushing 4.7 million shares. Kuwait International Bank inched 1 fil higher to 207 fils on back of 207 fils whereas Boubyan Bank clipped 1 fil.

Ahli United Bank BSC rose 3 fils to 230 fils with a volume of 4.4 million shares whereas Warba Bank paused at 235 fils. Commercial Bank amd Al Ahli Bank too were unchanged at 500 fils and 203 fils respectively while Ahli United Bank Kuwait added 1 fil.

KIPCO rose 2 fils to 174 fils on back of 1.5 million shares while KAMCO ticked 0.5 fil into green. Kuwait Investment Co took in 1 fil while International Financial Advisors added 1.5 fils on back of 20.6 million shares. National Investment Co scaled 4 fils after moving 2.5 million shares whereas The Securities Group trimmed 0.8 fils.

Noor Financial Investment inched 1 fils high-er to 180 fils while Tamdeen Investment dialed up 2 fils. Al Imtiaz Investment tripped 1 fils after pushing 5.8 million shares. Osoul Investment added 3.7 fils whereas Bayan Investment eased 0.2 fil and Unicap gave up 1.9 fils before ending at 41.3 fils.

Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) paused at 85 fils whereas KMEFIC clipped 1 fil. Kuwait

Insurance Co rose 5 fils to 405 fils whereas Warba Insurance Co ticked 1 fils into red. Kuwait Reinsurance Co was unchanged at 106 fils where-as First Takaful Insurance dialed up 2.6 fils.

Boubyan Petrochemical Co jumped 30 fils to 687 fils while Al Qurain Petrochemical Co was up 9 fils at 358 fils. Integrated Holding galloped 19 fils to 380 fils and Aznour held ground at 270 fils. YIACO skidded 37 fils to 717 fils while Independent Petroleum Group gave up 9 fils.

Jazeera Airways skidded 8 fils to 629 fils while ALAFCO inched 1 fil down. Oula Fuel dialed down 2 fils whereas Soor Fuel stalled at 124 fils. United Projects Co and OSOS Holding were unchanged at 234 fils and 121 fils respec-tively whereas Burgan Company For Well Drilling slipped 4 fils.

Kuwait Cement Co and Gulf Cable fell 2 fils to 237 fils and 769 fils respectively whereas Kuwait Portland Cement shed 17 fils. Kuwait Foundry Co rose 4 fils to 295 fils while Metal and Recycling Co added 2 fils. Automated Systems Co gained 4.2 fils.

The market has been mixed so far during the week gaining 21 points in last three sessions. It has shed 66 points so far during the month and is up 168 points year-to-date.

Photo by Iehab QurtalDense fog engulfed the Al-Tijaria Tower and adjacent areas in Al-Sharq, Kuwait

City on Monday, Feb 8 morning.

Farz Muhammad Al-Daihani Sunni/IndependentFourth Constituency

FARZ MUHAMMAD AL-DAIHANI was born in 1963. He holds Bachelor of Law and Diploma in Police Science.

He is a lawyer who served as an officer at the Ministry of Interior. He is a member of Kuwait Lawyers Society and the Municipal Council since 2009.

He contested the 2012 parliamentary elections but he lost as he obtained 3,473 votes and ranked 24th in the Fourth Constituency. He also lost in the 2013 elections when he got 1,442 votes and landed on 12th place in his constituency; as well as in the 2016

elections when he obtained 2,361 votes and occupied the 17th spot.

He won in the 2020 elections when he got 4,701 votes and ranked eighth in the Fourth Constituency.

StatementAl-Daihani is one of

the independent opposi-tion MPs. He support-ed the grilling motion against HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid in the early days of the 16th parlia-

mentary term in 2021.He previously disclosed that his

priorities include general amnesty and social reconciliation. True to his word, he later submitted a num-ber of bills regarding these issues.

Voting Record

Al-Daihani has no voting record as this is the first time he won a parliamentary seat.

mp profile getting to know you

Al-Daihani

Nod to permanent residence

Almost 50 pc oppose ‘partial lockdown’KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: Results of a survey conducted on the Twitter account of the daily with 9,546 participants revealed that 47.5 percent are against imposing partial curfew in the country as part of ongoing efforts to curb the spread of the new strains of coronavirus, reports Al-Qabas daily.

On the other hand, 43.7 percent of the participants support imposing curfew, while 8.8 percent are not interested whether curfew is imposed or not.

The question posted by the daily is: “Do you support imposing partial curfew in Kuwait to curb the spread of the new strains of corona?” The participants have three options – ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘I Do Not Care’.

The survey was conducted after the Council of Ministers announced its deci-sion on the closure of various commercial establishments from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am,

total closure of gyms and salons while the food stores and pharmacies are exempted.

Meanwhile, the Women and Family Committee has approved, during its meet-ing yesterday, a proposal to grant perma-nent residence to children of Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis.

This is in addition to giving them priority in employment after Kuwaitis and treating them like Kuwaitis inside ministries and government institutions.

On the other hand, the head of the com-mittee, MP Osama Al-Shaheen, said the committee conveyed to the concerned gov-ernment agencies the urgent need of centers to shelter women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Al-Shaheen called for speeding up the approval of the executive regulations for the Domestic Violence Law.

Euro/KD 0.3659

Yen/KD 0.0029

British £/KD 0.4168

Indian Rs/KD 0.0041

Philippines Peso/KD 0.0062

FTSE +8.03 pts at closing Feb 09

Nikkei +117.43 pts at closing Feb 09

Gold 1811.65 per oz (London)

US$/KDUS$/KD 0.30255/65 0.30255/65

NYMEX crude $57.75 per barrel

Brent crude $60.48 per barrel

LIBOR rate 0.19538%

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Pledge to relocate used tyresMP queries minister on ‘suspicious’ contract

By Saeed Mahmoud SalehArab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim on Tuesday traveled to Doha, Qatar for an official two-day visit in response to the invitation of Qatar’s Shura Council Chairman Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud.

During the visit, Al-Ghanim will meet His Highness the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to verbally convey the message of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. He will also meet with his Qatari counterpart.

Among those who bid farewell to Al-Ghanim upon depar-ture were acting Speaker MP Farz Al-Daihani, interim Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Mubarak Al-Harees, Ambassador of Qatar to Kuwait Bandar Muhammad Al-Atiya and acting Secretary-General of the Assembly Adel Al-Lughani.

DelegationEarlier on the same day, Al-Ghanim met Turkish Minister

of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu and his accompanying delegation; during which the two parties exchanged pleasant-ries and discussed issues of mutual concern.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary Environment Affairs Committee met Chairman of the Environment Public Authority (EPA) Sheikh Abdullah Al-Homoud Al-Sabah, representatives of the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW), and members of the parliamentary Housing Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

Chairman of the Environment Affairs Committee MP Hamad Al-Matar affirmed the meeting was fruitful; pointing out they discussed the environmental obstacles in South Saad Al-Abdullah Residential Area, particularly Rahiya, where the used tyres have piled up. He confirmed that Sheikh Abdullah promised to relocate the used tyres in Salmi within six months.

On the other hand, MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji forwarded queries to interim Minister of Commerce and Industry and State Minister for Economic Affairs Faisal Al-Medlej about the ‘suspicious’ contract through which the ministry assigned the National Technology Enterprises Company to carry out the census for 2021.

He wants to know the reasons behind the decision to entrust the project, which costs KD7 million, to the company instead of floating a public tender; why the ministry contra-vened the decision of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to conduct the census in December 2020; and history of the company in terms of executing similar projects; names, qualifications and salaries of the chairman and members of the Board of Directors of the company.

He requested for copies of approvals from the relevant monitoring institutions. He asked if such approvals were obtained due to the need to compare the cost of using the information recorded by public institutions and conducting field census, and number of Kuwaiti employees in the com-pany compared to expatriates.

He added that although Al-Medlej is serving in interim capacity, it does not mean he is away from questioning; while stressing he is keen on stopping such a suspicious contract.

MP Mehalhal Al-Mudaf asked interim Minister of Interior Sheikh Thamer Ali Al-Sabah about the number of ongoing projects in the Amiri Diwan; number of executed projects from Jan 1, 2011 till date; cost of each project; and legal basis for the Amiri Diwan to implement development projects.

He also submitted queries to interim Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh on the number of aircraft in the Amiri fleet, list of individuals using the fleet, legal basis for them to use such aircraft, sources of money used for the operation and parking of the Amiri fleet, and number of Kuwaiti and expatriate employees in the fleet.

DecreeHe asked interim Minister of Justice Nawaf Al-Yasseen

about the number of employees in the Amiri Diwan who resigned recently because of the decree to terminate those with the rank of minister, if they submitted their financial disclosures to Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha), if any of them were exempted from submitting the financial disclosures, and if any of them were referred to the Public Prosecution for failure to submit their financial disclosures.

MP Badr Al-Humaidi also submitted questions to interim Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh regarding the information spread on social media that the Amiri Diwan transferred KD4 million on Aug 18, 2011 to the head of the Kuwaiti permanent dele-gation to an international organization. He asked why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not transfer the money.

He forwarded queries to interim State Minister for Housing and Services Affairs Dr Abdullah Ma’arefi about the number of flights arriving from Turkey and Dubai since Feb 3, 2021; nationalities of the expatriate passengers; and the jobs and names of the sponsors of these expatriates.

MP Osama Al-Shaheen presented questions to interim Minister of Finance Khalifa Hamada about the bankruptcy of KNOTEL Company. He asked why the ministry decided to invest money in the company in 2019 despite the fact that it was established in 2016 which means it is a start-up compa-ny, amount of the total investment of the government in the company, total gains and total potential losses.

KUNA photoHis Highness Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receives the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşolu in his office. Various issues were dis-

cussed.

Crown Prince audiencesHis Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim at Bayan Palace on Tuesday.

His Highness the Crown Prince also hosted His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

Later on, His Highness the Crown Prince also received the Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, alongside the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his

accompanying delegation in a formal visit.

Furthermore, His Highness the Crown Prince received Qatar’s Ambassador to Kuwait Bandar Mohammad Al-Attiya as he handed His Highness a handwritten letter from Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in which he expressed his appreciation to the efforts of His Highness the Crown Prince in resolving the Gulf conflict in the 41st GCC summit held in Al-Ula Governorate. (KUNA)

Turkish FM meets counterpart

Role in resolving ‘Gulf crisis’ laudedANKARA, Feb 9, (KUNA): Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday congratulated the State of Kuwait on its successful diplomacy for resolving the “Gulf crisis.”

The minister, currently in Kuwait, expressed the felicitations in tweeted remarks after meeting His Highness the Amir, His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Prime Minister in the Gulf country.

“Owing to the State of Kuwait media-tion, there is currently positive atmo-sphere in the Gulf region,” said the minis-ter, whose remarks were carried by the

official Turkish news agency, Anadolu.Turkey will continue to work with the

GCC countries for expanding cooperation in the health and economic sectors, he added.

Ankara has maintained volume of trade exchanges with the State of Kuwait despite spread of the coronavirus, he added.

Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah received the Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu and his accompanying delega-tion, currently on a formal visit to the country.

LOCALARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021

4

HH Amir with HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad.

KUNA photosHH Amir with Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu.

90pc of stores adhere to newclosing timings: Al-Manfouhi

‘Stick to preventive health guidelines’

through inspection tours to ensure that shop owners adhere to the decisions and instructions issued. Harsher penalties will be taken against violators in the event of lack of cooperation by the owners of the stores and commercial activities.

It is worth mentioning that the inspection tours of the health requirement committee team Ahmadi and Farwaniya Municipality resulted in the issuance of citations for 27 violations to some stores in a number of commercial com-plexes including 25 in Ahmadi, and two violations and 47 verbal warnings in Farwaniya.

Meanwhile, Engr Al-Manfouhi has issued a cir-cular calling on all sectors and administrative units in the Municipality to implement preventive measures to coun-ter the spread of the coronavi-rus, reports Al-Anba daily.

The circular included taking into account the determination of the percentage of workers, provided that it be within (50%) of the total number of workers in one building.

This is in addition to contin-ued commitment to preparing tables with the names of employees “outdoor workers - workers on weekly rotation system and specifying the names of workers for each week and workers throughout the week - the names of the employees who are to be exempted from work.”

The circular also calls for commitment to the official working hours from half past eight in the morning until one in the afternoon; Continuing to use electronic platforms to determine the dates for citi-zens and residents to visit the Municipality, and to complete the transactions procedures electronically according to the nature of the work.

The circular calls for com-pliance with the preventive and precautionary health instructions and requirements with physical distancing and wearing masks while on duty, as well as public safety requirements and preventive health requirements.

The circular states it is the duty of the directors of the departments to supervise the implementation of the above; indicating that failure to com-ply with these procedures by the employee is considered a violation of duties and will lead to accountability.

By Abdul-Nasser Al-AslamiAl-Seyassah Staff and Agencies

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: Director General of Kuwait Municipality Engr Ahmed Al-Manfouhi affi rmed that 90 percent of the stores are adhering to the new closing timings, indicating that food shopping outlets, pharma-cies, and medical and food supply centers have been ex-

cluded from the closure.In a press statement, Engr Al-Manfouhi explained that the suspended

activities include barber shops, beauty salons, and sports and health clubs. Also, the daily work of all commercial activities are suspended from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am.

The decision also included preventing dine-in facilities for customers in restaurants, and limiting such commercial activities to delivery during the period of closing of stores in their various activities.

The task of the field inspection teams is to tighten supervision

HH exchanges letter with Qatar Amir

HH Amir receives HH Sheikh Nasser,State offi cials, Turkish FM Cavusoglu

HH the Amir condoles Moroccan Kingover victims of fl oods in Tangier city

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9, (KUNA): His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan Palace Tuesday His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

Meanwhile, His Highness the Amir received, at Bayan Palace on Tuesday, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim.

His Highness the Amir also received the Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah and the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavuso-glu on his offi cial visit to the country.

The two meetings were attended by Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh

Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah, Chief of the Amiri Diwan Sheikh Mubarak Faisal Saud Al-Sabah, Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Undersecretary of the Amiri Diwan and Director of the Offi ce of His Highness the Amir Ahmad Al-Fahad.

His Highness the Amir received a let-ter from Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, expressing his gratitude for His Highness efforts in the success of the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council Sum-mit.

In turn, His Highness the Amir thanked the Qatari Amir for his sincere senti-ments, praising the historical ties between Kuwait and Qatar.

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9, (KUNA): His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a cable of condolences on Tuesday to King of Mo-rocco Mohammad VI, over the victims of the torrential rains that caused fl oods in the Moroccan city of Tangiers, which resulted in dozens of casualties.

In the cable, His Highness the Amir

wished the injured a swift recovery and wellness.

His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah also sent similar condolence cables to the Moroc-can King.

LOCALARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021

5

R E M E M B E R W H E N

A DIGEST OF PUBLIC OPINION

diwaniya‘Decisions must be logical, practical, not arbitrary and hasty’“AFTER the recent government decisions based on the recommendations of the health authorities due to the increasing number of new cases of Corona disease — decisions which vary from preventing gatherings, complete closure, reducing working hours, to calls to stop sporting activities we hope this will help reduce the spread of the disease,” columnist Ibrahim Al-Awadhi wrote for Al-Rai daily.

“However, the decisions have sparked the street anger and split the social media between supporters and opponents. I wondered, as everyone asked, was it not the gatherings that happen in private and public places with the knowl-edge and sponsorship of the government? Did the government not see what was happening during the elections, on the day of the election, and also in the opening session of the National Assembly? Or even dur-ing by-elections?

“When the government decides to close commercial activities from eight o’clock, instead of ten as usual, will this reduce the spread of the disease? Logic says that the shopper will go to meet his needs in any case. If the num-ber of working hours are less, the density of people during a specifi c period will be more, and therefore the possibil-ity of disease spreading will be greater. Of course, this is if our logic is understood by the government.

“The same applies to restaurants and the short period of receiving customers until eight o’clock. I and many others do not know the logic for this decision, so does the decision-maker think that restaurants are empty until eight o’clock and full after that? Does the government think that people will not go to restaurants because of this decision to eat lunch or breakfast?

“It is a strange thing for the government. Exactly a week ago, it decided to reopen entertainment halls for children as if our health condition is good and reassuring and after a popular opposition campaign, the government reversed its decision and today it is calling for more tough measures and closure.

“We do not stand against any decision that is in the interest of the citizens

and the country, but these decisions must be logical, studied and practical, not arbitrary and hasty.”

“Also:“We always hear the saying that treating diseases immediately after they oc-

cur is easier than treating them after the spread of the disease, and this applies to all diseases that affl ict the human body and sometimes results from delay in starting treatment until it becomes impossible,” columnist Dr. Anwar Al-Shuraian wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“This also applies to economic diseases, so the longer the treatment and reform policies are delayed, the more costly and sometimes impossible they become. Yes, all countries of the world today suffer from the economic reper-cussions because of the ongoing Corona pandemic, and no country’s economy has been spared from the negative effects.

“Kuwait has suffered and is still suffering from the economic consequences of Corona, and although Kuwait is one of the fi rst countries to announce its stimulus package to revitalize the economy and support it to absorb the con-sequences of closures or restricting economic activities operating to specifi c groups or specifi c times and numbers, unfortunately not all of the package which was written at the time and spoken in more than one TV interview that it is good if applied but it is not suffi cient, simply because it is not possible to know the size of the economic consequences of the pandemic until it ends, but it is necessary to stimulate economic units, especially small and medium enter-prises and ensure that they are able to continue operating until the consequences of the pandemic end or support their fi xed costs that are not associated with their operation such as rents, salaries and loan installments.

“Over the course of 11 months, the government was unable to pass a law for small enterprises and during these months the cancer of losses and debts continued to penetrate the body of most of these projects, and their dreams for the future turned into nightmares of debt and obligations, loss of the future and the bad present.

“Now with the new health decisions, which I am sure that the prime minister puts the safety of citizens as priority to any other issue, the government should

have been aware of the consequences of these decisions and the need to pay at-tention to the owners of small projects because they are economically important and I assume that some senior government offi cials unfortunately do not take such importance into consideration and this indicates the short-sightedness, rather, the lack of consideration by some senior offi cials in the government who are in charge of the economic fi le.

“I have said it repeatedly that there are other solutions to rescue entrepre-neurs, away from the government guarantee law, but it seems to me that re-forming the economic situation is a priority for the leadership and the prime minister, it is not the case for most government offi cials.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“You cannot evaluate the performance of some ministers unless at least one year has passed since they occupied the position. Others, whose personalities have been revealed to us, register their attendance from the fi rst weeks, and per-haps from the fi rst days of their tenure,” columnist Abdulrahman Al-Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.

“Interior Minister Sheikh Thamer Ali Al-Sabah belongs to the last two cat-egories. His performance during the short period he took over the ‘Interior Min-istry’ portfolio reveals to us the type of political fi gures who deserves the title ‘statesmen.’

“Without the slightest compliment, the impression that any follower of Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali’s activity forms is that we are in front of a fi gure calling for respect, appreciation and deep admiration.

“We have been following his fi eld tours that almost never stop. We are not only drawn to his active movement, but also to the fact that he is a decision-maker. Even for a moment, he does not hesitate to take the appropriate decision on what he deems necessary and urgent.

“He also makes us feel that he has a clear and sound vision, and a strategy for action. He looks at the sectors of the ministry as an integrated system – in-separable from each other.”

— Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli

Al-Awadhi

Courtesy of The Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait© N.M.M.

Photograph courtesy of The Center for Re-search and Studies on Kuwait and the work of Dr Yacoub Al-Hijji in the book Old-Kuwait: Memories in Photographs fi rst published in 1996.

The people of Kuwait have always defended their city and kept her free and independent. The Red Fort at Jahra Oasis (some thirty-two kilometers west of Kuwait City) as it appeared in 1927. It was the scene of a battle in 1920 when the people of Kuwait defended their city against some desert tribal leaders.

Encompassing approximately eighty square yards, it has four towers and a well yielding undrinkable water, which was a great disadvantage for the Kuwaiti men who were besieged here during the battle of 1920. (From the book ‘Old Kuwait: Memories in Photographs’)

DEFENDING KUWAIT

‘Brawl’ case adjourned

‘Royal’ jailed for forging law degreeBy Jaber Al-Hamoud

Al-Seyassah Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: The Criminal Court presided over by Judge Nayef Al-Dahoum sentenced one of the ruling family members to seven-year imprisonment with hard labor, and ordered him to refund a sum of KD 157,000 as well as fi ned him double the amount, after con-victing him of forging university law degree.

According to the case fi le, the defendant – a captain in the Ministry of Interior – was accused of forging academic certifi cates, and

unlawfully appropriating fi nancial benefi ts granted to him due to his academic stature.

Meanwhile, the Misdemeanor Court de-cided to adjourn to early March the case concerning a brawl that occurred at the Su-laibikhat Cemetery.

The National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim and his two brothers Khaled and Fahad claimed a civil compensation of KD 5,001 from Nayef Salem Al-Marzouq, who in turn claimed a civil compensation also of KD 5,001 from Khaled and Fahad Al-Ghanim and other defendants.

Call for severe punishmentProsecution unhappy with 4-yrs jail in Pablo case

the director of the Public Au-thority for Manpower, Has-san Al-Khader, and the for-mer candidate in the Fourth Circuit, Nawaf Al-Mutairi for four years in prison with hard labor. The court had also im-posed monetary fi ne on Pablo and Al-Jarrah 1.97 million dinars each, while Al-Khader was fi ned 180,000 dinars.

The court had also acquit-ted MP Saadoun Hammad and former MP Salah Khor-shid citing lack of evidence.

Meanwhile, after working on it for more than 150 days, Al-Qabas daily has learned from informed sources that the Experts Department of the Ministry of Justice has submitted its report, which the Public Prosecution had requested, on cases involving well-known people who stand accused in money-laundering cases, reports Al-Qabas daily.

According to reliable sources close to the issue, the so-called ‘celebrity case’ has come a long way and is in the fi nal stages after the Pub-lic Prosecution received the reports from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Experts Department and the State Security Agency.

The sources confi rmed the investigations and reports are handed over to the Prosecu-tion offi ce.

The sources concluded that some fi les are ready, and others have not been fi nally resolved by the Public Pros-ecution, which is likely to summon for interrogation a number of suspects during the next few days to record their statements.

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: The Public Prosecution has ap-pealed to the judiciary for the most severest punishment for all convicts in the case of the Bangladeshi resident, who is also known as ‘Pablo’ and is a Member of Parliament in Bangladesh and allegedly owns a cleaning company in

partnership with a Kuwaiti, reports Al-Qabas daily.An informed source told the daily there is another case the Public Pros-

ecution Offi ce is still investigating said to be linked to the same case, and other accusations have been classifi ed as of ‘state security’ nature.

The Criminal Court had earlier sent each convict — the Bangladeshi MP and the former undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior Sheikh Mazen Al-Jarrah,

Over 7 arrested in raid on fi ctitious maids’ offi ceKUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: Personnel from the Criminal Investigation De-partment (CID) last Saturday raided a fi ctitious maids recruiting offi ce which allegedly coaxes domestic workers to fl ee from their employ-ers and then offer them for service to prospective employers for work on hourly basis, reports Al-Anba daily.

The daily added, during the raid seven domestic workers, all of Ne-

pali nationality were arrested and referred for interrogation.

During investigation it became clear the offi ce had succeeded in inciting hundreds of housemaids of different nationalities to leave their employers.

Also arrested are representatives of the licensed domestic labor of-fi ces involved in the ‘maid trade’, on the black market.

During investigation the offi cials

of the labor offi ces said they lured the maids to escape after promising them double the salary and work on hourly basis.

Meanwhile, a 27-year-old Egyp-tian fell to his death from a building under construction in Farwaniya, reports Al-Anba daily.

The daily added the death was spontaneous. The corpse has been referred to Forensics.

LOCALARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021

6

Ahmad Mohammed Taqi wins KD 1,000 grand prize

KIB announces winners of fi ve fi nal ‘KIBPay campaign’ drawsKUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: Kuwait In-ternational Bank (KIB) recently an-nounced the names of nine lucky winners of the final five draws of the KIBPay campaign, which was launched back in November 2020. The five final draws were held at the bank’s headquarters on January 26 in the presence of a representative from the Ministry of Commerce and Indus-try, as well as KIB staff members and managers.

Among the winners, Ahmad Mo-hammed Taqi won the monthly prize of KD 1,000, while 8 others won the weekly prize of KD 250 each, the win-ners were: Mouayad Rommel Al Hariri, Mohammed Saber Mohammed, Suha Mesfer Al Khathaami, Abdullah Ali Al Shammari, Mohammed Saeed Al Atili, Mena MakramIskandar, Salama Rabih Mhanna and Manal Ali Al Ajmi. Cash prizes will be credited into the winning customers’ accounts within 10 business days from the date of the draw.

The KIBPay campaign was designed to reward users of the KIBPay service,

as customers were eligible to enter the weekly draws for a chance to win 250 KD upon receiving a transfer worth KD 200 or more through the service – given that they deposit it into their account

during the specifi ed period of the draw. Customers were also then eligible to enter the monthly draw of KD 1,000, provided that the total transfers re-ceived through KIBPay and deposited

in the customer’s account exceeded or were equivalent to KD 2,000 during the specifi ed period.

On this occasion, Othman Taw-feqe, General Manager of KIB’s Retail Banking Department congratulated all KIBPay campaign winners and wished them and other customers luck in fu-ture campaigns. Tawfeqe also spoke about the campaign, noting: “We are delighted with the high turnout of cus-tomers who participated in the KIBPay campaign which was designed in line with the direction set by KIB’s recent digital transformation strategy. Since the launch of this campaign, we saw a signifi cant increase in customer de-mand for KIBPay – an e-banking ser-vice that enables customers to receive transfers within minutes with utmost speed and security, either through the smartphone app or by sharing the pay-ment link through email, WhatsApp and other mobile applications.”

Tawfeqe further noted that KIB continuously strives to reward a vari-ety of customer segments and provide

them with a premium set of banking services and products. “KIB is keen to launch innovative marketing cam-paigns for customers enabling them to enjoy a world of banking services at a tap of their phone, in addition to valu-able prizes that meet their expectations and suit their lifestyle, and we certainly promise our customers more of such campaigns in the near future.”

It serves to note that KIB seeks to enhance its customer loyalty and meet customer’s fi nancial and banking needs, by constantly launching a new suite of services and products, in addi-tion to rewarding them with attractive deals and lifestyle privileges through marketing campaigns tailored to fi t their unique requirements.

About KIBKuwait International Bank (KIB) is

a bank that operates according to the Islamic Shari’ah, based in the State of Kuwait. Incorporated in 1973, and originally known as Kuwait Real Es-tate Bank, KIB made the transition to its current Islamic operating model in

2007. In 2018, KIB embarked on a new phase of its journey full of innovation and development. As part of its new strategic direction, the bank focuses on offering a next-level customer experi-ence under the slogan: “Bank for Life”.

Through a network of branches spread across the State of Kuwait, KIB offers a broad range of banking prod-ucts and services, as well as innovative digital banking solutions in line with international best standards. As part of its duty towards the community, the Bank also encompasses a leading so-cial responsibility program that aims at positively impacting all members of the community through a wide range of impactful initiatives and activities.

Today, KIB has taken concrete steps in implementing its new strategic ob-jectives. The bank has cemented its role as a key player in the local banking industry and has continued to maintain its strong fi nancial performance; ena-bling it to be globally recognized for its strong credit rating and fi nancial posi-tion.

Othman Tawfeqe, General Manager of KIB’s Retail Banking Department.

Interior’s Asst Undersecretary denies ‘naturalization’ reports

‘Law applies to everyone’

authorities is made, the lists are com-pleted. This matter is procedural by the nature of the administration’s work. It is related to the issuance of a law by the National Assembly, either with regard to the naturalization of the military or the 1965 census campaign. Therefore, the National Assembly must issue a law for naturalization. Also, naturalization does not exceed 4,000 people in a year.

He added, “A lot of people went to the department after news was circulated about the existence of naturalization lists. We explained to everyone that this matter is not true, so there is no room for media-tion and the law applies to everyone.”

PlanRegarding the department’s work

plan, Lieutenant General Al-Nawwaf said there is an ambitious work plan to be added to the current work plan that is going according to the administra-tion’s vision by facilitating the com-pletion of transactions for citizens and developing the work mechanism.

He added, “Our doors are open to all before the issuance of the circular in this regard. We are working according to a clear and transparent mechanism.

I am in contact with all the clients, and I go to them and ask them about their level of satisfaction with the services provided to them and their observations. I also ask if there was any delay in com-pleting their transactions or not. We take all the suggestions for the benefi t of the work and we do not hesitate to take any procedure that would contribute to the development of work for the better”.

Lieutenant General Al-Nawwaf con-cluded by saying, “We are available eve-ry Tuesday from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm to discuss the complaints of all customers.”

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: Assistant Undersecretary for Citizen-ship and Passports Affairs in the Ministry of Interior Lieuten-ant-General Sheikh Faisal Al-Nawwaf has denied the reports circulating on social media about the completion of lists in Feb-ruary for the naturalization of soldiers, children of divorced women and widows, and holders of the 1965 census certifi cate, reports Al-Shahid daily.

He insisted that there is absolutely no truth in what has been mentioned

in this regard, stressing that in the event of the disclosure of names of those eligible for naturalization, the concerned authorities will announce it in a timely manner.

Lieutenant-General Al-Nawwaf said, “This is fake news. If there is disclosure, then it will be announced via the offi cial channels. The law applies to everyone, and we are keen to apply the law.” He affi rmed that there is no validity in naturalizing the children of Kuwaiti women who are divorced, widowed, and old employees of the oil sector.

Lieutenant-General Al-Nawwaf explained that the Citizenship and Passports De-partment took over the task of preparing lists. When the request from the concerned

Participants in Gulf Cancer Awareness Week pose for a photo.

Activities characterized by diversity in achieving goals

CAN participates in Gulf Cancer Awareness WeekBy Marwa Al-Bahrawi

Al-Seyassah Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: The National Cancer Awareness Campaign (CAN) participated in the activities of the joint Gulf Cancer Awareness Week from February 1 to 7.

The head of the National Cancer Awareness Campaign (CAN), the head of the organizing committee of the sixth joint Gulf Cancer Awareness Week, Dr. Khaled Al-Saleh pointed out that the campaign activities for this year were characterized by diversity in achieving the goals, as many work-

shops and awareness lectures were held at the CAN training center, with the participation of a number of special-ists and primary care physicians of the Ministry of Health.

Dr Al-Saleh noted the organization of the ‘My Wish’ event, was held under the patronage and in the presence of the Director of Al-Sabah Specialized Med-ical District, Dr. Ahmad Al-Shatti and the Director of the National Bank of Kuwait Hospital for Children, Dr. Ali Al-Mulla and Dr Nadia Al Mahmoud as a representative of the ‘CAN’ cam-paign, with the aim of entertaining child cancer patients and making them

happy.Al-Saleh pointed out that the activi-

ties also included the organization of a virtual lecture through the (TIMES) program, on nutrition during corona, in cooperation with the Department of Nutrition and Food, and presented by nutritionist Professor Maryam Al-Enezi, who highlighted the most im-portant types of food that enhance the body’s immunity and the importance of maintaining the ideal weight, and prevent the accumulation of fat, which leads to many diseases, especially due to the quarantine procedures due to pandemic.

In this photo dated Feb 3, released by Kensington Palace on Feb 6, showing Britain’s Prince William, (centre bottom), during an interna-tional video call with seven young environmentalists from the UN Environment Programme’s Young Champions of the Earth initiative and UNEP’s Executive Direc-tor Inger Andersen, (middle row, right), to hear their perspectives on the environmental challenges facing our planet and the innova-tive solutions needed to address them. Prince William hailed the

young people as ‘shining lights’ in the mission to protect the environ-ment. The Young Champions of the Earth for 2020 include Nzambi Matee (Kenya), Xiaoyuan Ren (China), Vidyut Mohan (India), Lefteris Arapakis (Greece), Max Hidalgo Quinto (Peru), Niria Alicia Garcia (USA) and Fatemah Alz-elzela, (center 2nd row) (Kuwait). The Prince launched his ambitious Earthshot Prize project in the au-tumn which aims to recognise solutions, ideas and technologies that ‘repair the planet’. (AP)

2,949 employees entitled to ‘risk’ allowance – MoHKUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: The Min-istry of Health has determined the number of workers entitled to the ‘infection-pollution risk’ allowance among the staff at Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital and the fi eld hospitals - a total of 2,949 employees under the general salary scale and those tem-porarily appointed under all kinds of contracts, reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources.

Sources informed the daily that the number of employees entitled to the allowance in Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital reached 2,476 and 473 for the fi eld hospitals.

Sources disclosed the disburse-ment of the allowance starts either on the day of allocating the above-mentioned hospitals for the treat-ment of those infected with coro-navirus or the day the benefi ciaries started working in these hospitals. Sources clarifi ed the payment of the allowance will stop once the concerned employee is delegated or transferred to another workplace or once the pandemic ends, whichever

comes fi rst.

Also:KUWAIT CITY: The Civil Service

Commission (CSC) has refused to allocate hazard, pollution or noise allowance for workers in the De-partment of Supplies and Stores of the Ministry of Education, reports Al-Anba daily.

The CSC said in a statement, a copy of which has been obtained by the daily, that it has replied to the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, after studying the issue in conjunction with the Occupation-al Health Department at the Minis-try of Health to determine the extent to which the employees working in stores of the ministry are exposed to risk, pollution and noise.

The CSC said it found the nature of the employees’ work does not expose them to danger, pollution or noise to a degree that may cause harm to their health and confi rmed they are not entitled to the allow-ance they asked for.

LOCALARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021

7

Implementing a cloud-based solution a complicated exercise

Cloud is the future of computing for the foreseeable futureBy Consultancy and Research Department, Institute of Bank-

ing Studies — KuwaitAuthors: Dr Thalaya Alfozan and

Ghaleb Aoude

This is the first part of ‘Cloud Computing and its Impact on Ku-wait’s Banking Sector’ research.

— Editor❑ ❑ ❑

Introduction

Cloud Computing has gained a lot of momentum in the past few years. Today, public and private sec-tor enterprises, as well as medium to small businesses and even individuals, are using one or more cloud services daily. It is difficult to find any current information technology service in use that does not depend on some form of a cloud environment. It is enough only to think of Hotmail and Gmail from Microsoft and Google, respectively, to understand the prevalence of cloud usage today.

Although Cloud Computing is not a new concept and many technical models are in use for a while, the idea itself and its implications on information technology departments are not that obvious for many profes-sionals, especially for those who are not technically involved in informa-tion technology.

This study will answer two main questions:

■ What are the origins, concepts, technologies, risks, benefits, imple-mentation models, and challenges of cloud computing? What consid-erations allow organizations to best benefit from cloud computing and what is the environmental impact of cloud computing?

■ What are the cloud trends in the global banking sector and how is the banking sector in Kuwait ap-proaching cloud computing? What is the status of cloud initiatives in Kuwaiti banks? Finally, what ap-proaches can Kuwaiti banks im-plement to develop the necessary talents required to support cloud initiatives?

Note: The study uses simple, self-explanatory language with sim-plified terminologies so that non-technology professionals can benefit from its content.

3 Executive SummaryThis executive summary will re-

flect on the findings of the study in pursuit of answering the two ques-tions posed above. We will also highlight when the answers to both questions intersect.

3.1 Going Cloud This first topic of the study relates

to the origins of the Cloud, current trends of the Cloud, business value, trends, technologies, implementa-tion strategies, precautions, related Cybersecurity issues, procurement, and contractual considerations. The following summarizes the findings of the study:

■ The Cloud is here to stay. It is the future of computing for the foreseeable future. Cloud strategies and plans are the core direction of almost all technology companies. Even those vendors that do not offer cloud data centers are heavily in-volved in building cloud-based ser-vices such as consulting, business solutions, management, integration, development tools, databases, proj-ect management, cybersecurity, etc. The Cloud has a massive ecosystem around it that is attracting new play-ers every day.

■ Large enterprises that deal with big data stores, such as banks, mainly depend on legacy-based systems through either implement-ing ready-made software solutions or implementing their bespoke solutions. With the complexity of today’s client requirements, both types of solutions are under se-vere pressure to evolve towards much higher efficiency, diversity, and user-friendly levels. Software solution vendors are moving to the Cloud to meet the new service levels while maintaining their sus-tainable profitability. Therefore, banks will have to choose between building new solutions by them-selves from scratch using new cloud-based technologies, or mov-ing to cloud-based solution provid-ers. Both options represent giant steps in terms of cost and impact on banks’ business processes and talent capabilities. The question now is when banks will make their move. We do not believe that they have much choice. Some banks in Kuwait have already realized this fact and have taken action in im-plementing Cloud/Fintech based solutions such as KYC, collabora-tion, etc.

■ Enterprises may implement a Cloud-Enabled1 environment where they utilize the economic advantages of the Cloud. They may also implement a Cloud-Native2 environment that takes advantage of the scalability and agility ben-efits of the Cloud. Going with the latter option allows enterprises to reap the real benefits of the Cloud, and provides them with the long-term competitive advantage and growth potential they hope for.

■ Implementing a cloud-based solution or going Cloud, in any way, is a complicated exercise. It brings change to a long-standing norm that enterprises have been used to for years. Enterprises will face many challenges going through the exercise. They need to

make many choices along the way. For the purpose of this study, a survey that was conducted among Kuwaiti banks during the period of November 2019 to January 2020 made it clear that lack of cloud awareness and expertise is a big concern for cloud adoption. Using specialized cloud consulting ser-vices is the obvious safe way of se-lecting optimum cloud technology, services, and partners.

■ Selecting the optimum cloud technology and partner is half of the challenge. The other half is negotiat-ing safe Service Level Agreements (SLA) with cloud partners. Enter-prises should carefully scrutinize the SLA3 to make sure it meets the requirements of the enterprise. Both cybersecurity considerations and exit policies are vital factors, among other issues, such as high-availabili-ty, performance, price, business con-tinuity, etc. Cybersecurity is particu-larly interesting because there are many misconceptions as to where the responsibility of the enterprise and the responsibility of the cloud service provider start and end. Many businesses assume that the cloud vendor’s cybersecurity services are enough; this perception is neither correct nor accurate. Exit policy is another crucial factor. Enterprises should make sure that they could re-tain or have full access to their data stored in the cloud environment in the format they want without any restriction even when they decide to terminate their contract or replace the cloud service provider.

3.2 The Cloud at Kuwaiti Banks Efforts to answer the second

question of the study revealed the following findings:

■ In March 2020, the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) issued the CYBERSECURITY FRAME-WORK FOR KUWAITI BANKING SECTOR (CSF), which clarifies what regulated entities need to do when adopting cloud services. The CSF was developed by CBK with the participation from the Kuwaiti banks. Unfortunately, the survey and the study were completed before the official release of the CSF document. Hence, the survey results do not re-fer to this document, which, other-wise, could have provided invalu-able insights to the survey and to the research as a whole.

■ In a highly regulated environ-ment such as banking, we noticed insufficiently clear regulation in terms of cloud adoption. The main issue is related to regulations on storing client data outside Kuwait. Kuwait, so far, does not have any public cloud datacenter within its borders suitable for the banking sec-tor needs. Thus, any bank’s cloud implementation will imply storing data outside Kuwait unless imple-mented in a private cloud environ-ment within the banks’ premises. In their response to a survey question, some banks said that the Central Bank approves storing data out-side Kuwait for backup and disas-ter recovery uses, and some noted that client data could not be stored outside. Banks must have clear and unambiguous regulations to follow. The CSF document provides the

necessary answers to the ambiguous situation that banks have been suf-fering from.

■ During one-to-one meetings, the surveyed banks clearly said that the Central Bank requires that they keep backup and disaster recovery data outside Kuwait, and banks can-not store client data outside Kuwait. At the same time, banks confirmed that they have to go back to the Central Bank for approval if they want to implement any cloud-based solution. However, banks would prefer to avoid having to consult with the Central Bank before any implementation.

■ In general, banks in Kuwait are aware of the Cloud and its business value. They realize that this is an inevitable trend. One bank even started its first cloud implementation more than five years ago. Accordingly, banks managed to coexist with the lack of regulation and with the case-by-case approval mechanism. It might be delaying their plans, but not stopping them. Thus, regulations or laws will enable banks to move faster with their cloud initiatives, understand their limits, and help them implement their business growth strategies for this highly competitive market. Fortunately, CBK’s CSF document streamlined this process.

■ The Cloud may not fit all. One bank, after tedious studies and evaluations, concluded that moving their banking applications to the Cloud is not cost-efficient. This is related to their computing platform diversity and the volume of their data and transactions. This conclu-sion reaffirms the need to approach cloud computing with a profession-al, systematic, and business-related methodology.

■ Banks will no longer be com-peting within their regulated com-fort zone. Payment services, for example, are growing outside the regulated financial industry. Com-panies like Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and IBM have their payment platforms. Fintech is driving the financial services business towards peer-to-peer re-lationships. Bitcoin, driven by Blockchain technology, is a clear example of such a business envi-ronment whereby the intermediary financial role of banks will be fac-ing fierce competition. Therefore, banks need to rethink their overall strategies and diversify. After all, no country can resist the change and protect their markets forever. Globalization is here to stay.

According to Lucas Mearian, a Senior Reporter of Computerworld4, Blockchain is a “distributed ledger technology (DLT) that allows data to be stored globally on thousands of servers – while letting anyone on the network see everyone else’s entries in near real-time. That makes it dif-ficult for one user to gain control of, or game, the network.”

■ Banks focused on the lack of expertise. The journey to build-ing competent human resources is by no means short and easy. It re-quires dedication by the people and investment by banks. Cloud-based

consulting services play a vital role in helping enterprises move to the Cloud, a move that is usually part of or coupled with their digital trans-formation initiatives. Banks in Ku-wait, we believe, had better follow the same route, especially during the early stages of adopting cloud services. However, banks may con-sider building their internal cloud capabilities as a long-term strat-egy depending on their cost/benefit analysis based on the status and size of each bank.

■ Cybersecurity stands out as an-other challenge that becomes even more critical when moving to the Cloud. Most banks depend on third-party cybersecurity service provid-ers either solely or as a supporting element to their resources. This fits well with the current requirements of protecting highly sensitive busi-ness environments. Cybersecurity has become a complex issue to deal with by even large organizations. On the other hand, one bank re-ported that they depend solely on the cloud service provider for their cloud security. This is risky. Af-ter all, cybersecurity is a result of the interaction and integration of people, processes, and solutions. Only the bank fully understands its security requirements, and it is the bank’s final responsibility and not that of the cloud service pro-vider. In all cases, cybersecurity, like other issues, should be well crafted as part of the Service-Level-Agreement with the cloud service provider.

■ It remains to be seen how the Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) ser-vice will affect governance models of organizations and cybersecurity regulations of countries. BYOK re-fers to the encryption model where clients own and manage the en-cryption keys used to encrypt their cloud-stored data.

4 Section-1: Cloud ComputingThis section will help the reader

to understand the Cloud, its ori-gins, benefits, technology options, deployment variations, risks, im-plementation considerations, and the responsibility of organizations when they plan to adopt cloud ser-vices.

4.1 Cloud Computing Defini-tion

Cloud computing can be defined as the service that avails of comput-ing assets such as infrastructure, da-tabases, data storage services, and other operating technical services to other organizations through the Internet while adopting a use-based costing system. Cloud Comput-ing is available to organizations and individuals alike. Cloud ven-dors provide information assets to clients through flexible business models based on the needs of their clients and almost instantly. This speed and flexibility, in addition to other factors that will be discussed later, have made Cloud computing an invaluable asset to organiza-tions and helped the spread of this technological phenomenon. Today, many cloud vendors provide their services regionally or on a world-wide basis.

Cloud computing has become a major driving force for the digi-tal transformation initiatives that many organizations found them-selves forced to consider seri-ously. The business competency requirements, the cost benefits, the speed of delivery, the flexibility of procurement, the upward or down-ward flexibility, and the geographic independence that coincides with digital transformation plans were behind the widespread adoption of cloud computing.

4.2 Origins of Cloud Comput-ing

The roots of cloud computing go back to the 1960s when J. C. R. Licklider, the first Director of the Pentagon’s Information Process-ing Techniques Office, first used the term Intergalactic Computer Network (similar to today’s Inter-net). During that period, Licklider launched important initiatives. The first was to start computer science departments in many famous US universities. The second was the introduction of the time-sharing concept (sharing of computing as-sets among many users). This has led to the start of the Advanced Re-search Projects Agency Network – ARPANET), which was a packet-switching network and the first network to implement the TCP/IP protocol. Later, we witnessed the emergence of concepts such as Utility Computing that promised to avail of computing resources through business models similar to other utilities such as power or water.

However, Salesforce, a USA based CRM solution provider, did the real practical implementation of cloud computing in 1999 when it launched its cloud-based CRM platform. Cloud computing ser-vices actively followed through global cloud vendors’ services such as Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. No doubt, the Cloud is the first choice that orga-nizations think of when they plan to renovate their IT infrastructure or embark on new digital transfor-mation initiatives.

4.4 Service Models of Cloud Computing

Services models of cloud com-puting differ based on the location and ownership of cloud computing

centers. Figure 210 outlines the ser-vice models:

4.5 Specialized Cloud Services Models

Many specialized cloud vendors have emerged to deliver specific services. Public cloud vendors may also provide one or more of these services. We expect many more offerings of specialized cloud services with the widespread adoption of cloud technologies. We list below some specialized cloud services:

4.5.1 Public Application Pro-gramming Interfaces – Public API’s

Public API’s make it possible for software developers to use certain ready-made programmed functions within their applica-tions. As an example, they can use Google Map API within their apps to provide location-based services. Social networks APIs of LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook provide de-velopers with APIs to be used in their CRM.

4.5.2 Integration platform as a Service – IPaaS

This cloud service provides links that allow integration with infor-mation-based service providers re-gardless of being cloud-based as a SaaS service or legacy-based at a traditional datacenter. Examples of IPaaS services providers are Dell Boomi, Informatica, Mulesoft, and SnapLogic.

4.5.3 Identity as a Service – IDaaS

Identity management is one of the most critical functions that al-low cloud service users to access their information assets securely. Identity management becomes ex-ceptionally critical because those users also access information assets at their local organizations’ data centers. IDaaS services provide a seamless identity management functionality while integrating with the directory services of the orga-nization being Active Directory, LDAP, or others.

4.5.4 Unified Communications as a Service – UCaaS

UCaaS cloud vendors deliver unified communications services to their clients. They charge clients according to a consumption-based model. Clients enjoy significant cost savings compared to what they will incur if they purchase and maintain the equipment taking into consideration the fast pace of change in communications tech-nology. This model allows organi-zations to scale up their consump-tion temporarily, significantly, and instantaneously when they want to launch their marketing campaigns. For example, UCaaS services de-liver phone calls via cell phones and all types of personal devices, including group calls, video con-ferencing, electronic messaging, chatting, and support of call cen-ters.

4.5.5 Collaboration PlatformsCollaboration platforms such as

Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Hip-Chat help teams collaborate and work efficiently and effectively to-gether. They are SaaS cloud servic-es that allow users to communicate and exchange information being in the form of text, sound, image, or video. In addition, they provide Public APIs to enable other organi-zations to use the services of these collaboration tools in developing their applications.

4.5.6 Vertical CloudsVarious industry-specific ven-

dors such as the financial services, healthcare, retail, life sciences, or manufacturing deliver cloud-based services that allow users of many organizations to provide their ap-plications and integrate them with these cloud services. Users, in this case, can swiftly develop their ap-plication to serve them internally or to sell them to a third party. The time to market is significantly re-duced while saving a lot of time and resources.

To be continued tomorrow

1. TerminologiesWe list below the terms and the context in which each is used:Term DescriptionAI. Artificial IntelligenceAliPay Alibaba Payment ServiceAPI Application Programming InterfaceARPANET Advanced Research Projects Agency Network AWS Amazon Web ServicesB2B Business-to-BusinessBC Business ContinuityBlockchain A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchainBYOK Bring Your Own KeyCAGR Compound Annual Growth RateCAPEX Capital ExpenditureCBK or Central Bank The Central Bank of KuwaitCCTV Closed-Circuit TelevisionCEBS Committee of European Banking SupervisorsChatbot A computer program that fundamentally simulates human conversations Cloud Vendor, Co, The vendor that provides or sells cloud computingand Service Provider servicesCMA UK’s Competition and Markets AuthorityCRM Customer Relationship ManagementDR. Disaster RecoveryDRaaS Disaster Recovery as a ServiceEBA European Banking AuthorityEncryption The process of encoding a message so that it can be read only by the sender and the intended recipient. Encryption systems often use two keys, a public key, available to anyone, and a private key that allows only the recipient to decode the message.e-Waste Electronic waste describes disposed or discarded electrical or electronic devicesFCA Financial Conduct Authority in the United KingdomGDPR General Data Protection RegulationGHG Green House GasIaaS Infrastructure as a ServiceIDaaS Identity as a Service KYC Know your customerMachine Learning The use and development of computer systems that are able to learn and adapt without following explicit instructions, by using algorithms and statistical models to analyze and draw inferences from patterns in data.Obfuscation The act or an instance of making something obscure, dark, or difficult to understandOPEX Operational ExpenditureOrganization(s), The organization that procuresClient(s), Owner, any type of cloudCustomer, Business computing service from a Cloud VendorPaaS Platform as a ServicePbD Privacy by DesignPSD Payment Services DirectiveRPA Robotic Process AutomationSaaS Software as a ServiceSLA Service Level AgreementTCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet ProtocolTTLF Transatlantic Technology Law ForumUCaaS Unified Communications as a ServiceUsers or Staff The staff members of the organization that purchases Cloud computing services

Market Movements 09-02-2021

Business Change Closing ptsJAPAN - Nikkei +117.43 29,505.93FRANCE - CAC 40 +5.51 5,691.54PHILIPPINES - PSEi +41.07 7,065.55CHINA - Shanghai SE +71.04 3,603.49 Change Closing ptsAUSTRALIA - All Ordinaries -58.72 7,102.06GERMANY - DAX -48.11 14,011.80EUROPE - Euro Stoxx 50 -4.38 3,661.13S. KOREA - KRX 100 -18.09 6,663.68INDIA - Sensex -19.69 51,329.08PAKISTAN - KSE 100 -47.10 46,674.77Production to start in Q4 2025

QP inks contract to developworld’s largest LNG projectDOHA, Feb 9, (KUNA): Qatar Petroleum Company took the fi nal investment decision for developing the North Field East Project (NFE), the world’s largest LNG project, which will raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 million tons per annum (MMTPA) to 110 MMTPA.

In addition to LNG, the project will pro-duce condensate, LPG, ethane, sulfur and helium.

It is expected to start production in the fourth quarter of 2025 and its total produc-tion will reach about 1.4 million barrels oil equivalent per day.

The decision to proceed with the invest-ment was announced during a signing cere-mony held today to celebrate the execution of the project’s key onshore engineering, pro-curement and construction (EPC) contract.

The contract was signed by Qatar’s Minister of Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, Kazushi Okawa, the Chairman

of the Board and CEO of Chiyoda Corpo-ration, and Arnaud Pieton, the President of Technip Energies, in the attendance of sen-ior executives from Qatar Petroleum,