KUWAIT: 1956 — Moudhi Al-Sarhan became the first Kuwaiti female to join the Ministry of Interior’s correctional institute.

1981 — Kuwait’s Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah signed a decree to establish the Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies at Kuwait University, as well as changing the name of the Faculty of Law and Sharia to the Faculty of Law.

1990 — Kuwait’s Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah patronized a popular conference in the Saudi city of Jeddah. Participants in the three-day national event reiterated their commitment to the legitimate Kuwaiti leadership in the face of Iraqi aggression against the State of Kuwait.

1990 — Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), which was occupied and looted by Iraqi invaders of the State of Kuwait, began broadcasting from an interim headquarters in London, UK, to provide subscribers with news about occupied Kuwait.

1999 — Kuwait won the Gulf Junior Squash Championship, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

2010 — Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) signed a KD 11 million loan agreement with Mauritania to finance construction of a Nouakchott University campus.

2017 — The KFAED signed a KD 12 million loan agreement with Senegal to reconstruct a major highway.

2018 — Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Cultural Center won the Best Services Architecture Building award in the Middle East and North Africa. — KUNA

KUWAIT: An Amiri decree published in the official gazette Kuwait Al-Youm on Sunday has allowed listed companies in which non-Kuwaitis have shares to own property in the country, excluding private residences. Under a Kuwaiti law issued in 1979, such companies were barred from owning property in the country and only Arab individuals can own a house or land through an Amiri decree.

Foreigners who inherit property from their Kuwaiti mothers must sell it within one year, according to the old legislation. Foreign embassies can own a maximum of 4,000 square meters to build their own premises based on mutual treatment. Most Gulf countries currently allow foreigners to own houses directly and some states even offer long-term residence permits to big buyers.

The new decree, however, made an amendment to the 1979 law, allowing listed shareholding companies, real estate funds and investment portfolios with non-Kuwaiti ownership to buy real estate. Such companies must be listed on bourses in Kuwait and one of their purposes is trading in property, the new decree states. Such companies are, however, not allowed to purchase land used for private housing. Nationals of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states are treated like Kuwaitis in owning property in Kuwait, the decree states.

Meanwhile, Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) announced on Sunday that it has referred a senior government bureaucrat and an unspecified number of other persons to the public prosecution on suspicion of graft and filing incorrect financial statements about their wealth. Nazaha has recently referred dozens of leading government bureaucrats to the public prosecution over suspected violations regarding mandatory financial statements about their private wealth.

KUWAIT: Chairman of the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA), Dr Khaled Al-Zamel, affirmed on Sunday that Kuwait prioritizes adopting advanced national strategies to foster innovation and digital transformation, enhance digital infrastructure and improve government system efficiency in line with global developments. Al-Zamel made the remarks during the opening of the International Forum on Artificial Intelligence and Digitization and the Gulf Conference on Archiving, Documents and Archives Management, held under the patronage of Minister of State for Communications Affairs Omar Al-Omar.

The forum attracted participation from governmental and private entities, as well as several Gulf institutions. Dr Al-Zamel highlighted CITRA’s efforts to develop policies and regulatory frameworks to enable modern technologies while regulating artificial intelligence to serve the public interest, preserve human values, and ensure cybersecurity. He noted that digital transformation and AI have become key tools for administrative and economic development worldwide, serving as a cornerstone for institutional performance, service quality, and informed decision-making.

“The forum provides a platform for Gulf and international dialogue, aiming to unify efforts, exchange expertise, and explore cooperation opportunities between government institutions, the private sector, and academic bodies,” he said. Dr Al-Zamel emphasized that AI carries a civilizational responsibility that requires awareness and sound management, adding that CITRA is committed to a safe, disciplined, and ethical adoption of emerging technologies in line with international standards.

Acting Director General of the Central Agency for Information Technology, Najat Ibrahim

He further highlighted the importance of digital document and archive management as a pillar of modern institutional systems, contributing to preserving national memory, regulating information exchange, facilitating secure data access, promoting transparency, and supporting evidence-based decision-making. He expressed hope that the forum’s discussions would lead to actionable recommendations advancing AI and digitization across GCC countries, and practical projects to build a safe, prosperous, and sustainable digital future.

For her part, Acting Director General of the Central Agency for Information Technology, Najat Ibrahim, said Kuwait is witnessing accelerated digital integration, led by the Ministry of State for Communications Affairs, to support the “New Kuwait 2035” vision. She noted that this includes strengthening AI and digitization, improving document and archive management, and fostering inter-agency integration to build an efficient digital economy, enhance government services, and improve quality of life.

Ibrahim highlighted pioneering initiatives, including transitioning to cloud computing through partnerships with leading tech companies, establishing digital platforms for inter-governmental system integration, and unifying programming interface management. She said these measures aim to enhance service efficiency, facilitate secure data exchange, improve user experience, and support innovation across public and private sectors.

She described the forum as a valuable opportunity to consolidate efforts and open new horizons for IT specialists and decision-makers, contributing to achieving the goals of Kuwait’s “New Kuwait 2035” vision and GCC member states’ digitization plans. Ibrahim expressed hope that the forum’s presentations by leading scholars and experts would yield meaningful insights and practical benefits. — KUNA