Manama: The new ministers of the Kuwaiti government took the parliamentary oath today at the start of a much-awaited session with the lawmakers.
Abdul Mohsen Al Midaj, the deputy prime minister and minister of commerce and industry, Ahmad Al Mualifi, the education minister, Ali Al Abidi, the health minister, Nayef Al Ajami, the endowments and Islamic affairs minister, Hind Al Subaih, the social affairs and labour minister and planning and development state minister, and Yasser Abul, the housing state minister, pledged allegiance to the nation and to the Emir at the special ceremony.
The ministers had taken the oath before the Emir on Monday following the announcement of the new cabinet.
Two lawmakers, Abdul Hamid Dashti and Nabeel Al Fadhel, displaced two other lawmakers as they were last month declared winners by the constitutional court in the July elections. They too took the parliamentary oath before formally replacing their two colleagues who had to leave after serving six months.
The new government was announced on Monday hours before the parliamentary session.
In order to ensure there are no legal loopholes that could be used to challenge the constitutionality of the cabinet, the Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah accepted the resignations of seven ministers and issued another decree appointing the new ministers.
The new cabinet has only one woman, Hind Al Subaih, down from two in the previous formation.
At the first cabinet meeting on Monday evening, the prime minister Shaikh Jaber Mubarak Al Hamad Al Sabah urged the ministers “to work to overcome the challenges and accomplish the achievements on target”.
Shaikh Jaber said the cabinet “needed to ensure the proper application of the law and to deepen cooperation with the parliament for the sake of Kuwaiti citizens”.
Relations between the government and the parliament have been particularly rocky in recent years despite repeated calls by the Emir to iron out differences and channel time and efforts towards a brighter future for the country.
Several governments had been dissolved to avoid direct confrontation with the parliament and Kuwaitis are hoping that the political stability that has been particularly elusive would be now achieved.
