Expats to get subsidized food if Iran closes Hormuz Strait Wednesday, September 04, 2013 KUWAIT: Kuwait’s government plans to give the country’s expatriate community access to subsidized food as part of emergency plans in case Iran closes traffic at the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation to a US-led strike against Syria, a local daily reported yesterday quoting government sources familiar with the plan. According to the quarterly report released by the health statistics control department in the Ministry of Health, Kuwait’s population is nearly 3,719,000, divided into 1,185,000 Kuwaitis or 31.9 percent of the total population, and 2,534,000 or 68.1 percent of the population. The largest expatriate community is found in Farwaniya Governorate with 980,000 people. Speaking to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity, the sources said that the government’s emergency plan includes handing cards to foreigners living in the country similar to those granted to Kuwaitis by which they can obtain basic food items at subsidized prices. “This step demonstrates the state’s commitment to taking responsibility for the safety of all residents on its land regardless of nationality”, the sources said. According to the sources, the plan calls for ‘reducing’ the quantity of subsidized items allocated for Kuwaitis in order to ‘supply’ enough shares to be provided to non-Kuwaitis in similar price rates. A portion’s size varies depending on the number of family members, but the source said that an average package includes rice, sugar, lentils, tomato paste, frozen chicken, cooking oil, in addition to milk and cheese. The same sources also revealed that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s preparations for worst case scenarios include making three emergency decisions as authorized to the minister by the commodities law; the first one to determine quotas of subsidized food, the second to maintain prices against increase, and the third to stop export of food items. Earlier reports suggested that Kuwait’s strategic reserve of basic food items located at warehouses of co-operative societies around the country has enough supply to meet demand for four months. Preparations for potential aftermath of a military strike against Syria will be the main topic of discussion during a meeting for the parliament’s foreign affairs committee today to be attended by a government team led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah. According to Cabinet sources quoted by Al-Rai yesterday, the team is expected to include as many as eight ministers “to allow discussion of all kind of repercussions including the possibility of a regional war”. The meeting could also extend to the technical side of the issue “and address the political side concerning Kuwait’s official stand on a military strike against the Syrian regime”, said the sources. Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al- Ghanim issued an invitation yesterday to MPs to attend the meeting which takes place this afternoon at the parliament’s building. Meanwhile, 10 lawmakers submitted a request to allocate the parliament’s session on November 14, 2013 to discuss national and food security preparations in case of an emergency, as well as the impact of regional changes on the local scene, and the potential effect of a convicted Iranian espionage cell to the national security. According to Al-Rai, the proposal was submitted by MPs Riyadh Al-Adasani, Dr Mohammad Al-Huwailah, Dr Abdullah Al-Turaiji, Dr Abdurrahman Al-Jeeran, Osama Al-Tahous, Mohammad Al-Enizy, Dr Husain Al-Quwa’ian, Dr Awdah Al-Ruwai’ei, Hamdan Al-Azmi, and Madhi Al-Hajri. In other news, Al-Jarida daily reported that the Cabinet is considering plans to establish a permanent crises management center to deal with emergency situations and wars that could take place in the country and region. According to sources, the plan calls for establishing an independent body which will coordinate with concerned authorities to activate emergency plans when necessary. Meanwhile, Al-Anba Daily reported that the Cabinet is also considering a proposal to establish a ‘reserve economic council’ whose job is to address any developments that impact the economic sector in Kuwait as a result of political escalations in the region.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Sep 2013 04:00:36 +0000
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