KUWAIT: HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah on Thursday chaired the first meeting of his Cabinet and visited the National Assembly, where he stressed the importance of cooperation with parliament to help achieve the aspirations of the Kuwaiti people. Received by Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun, the new prime minister said the government extends the hand of cooperation to the National Assembly based on constitutional principles.

He also insisted on the necessity of cooperation between the government and the Assembly to approve legislation to serve national interests amid regional and international challenges. HH Sheikh Dr Mohammad said his government’s priorities will be to handle economic challenges and revise legislation and policies to restructure the domestic economy.

The Harvard-educated premier on Wednesday formed his first Cabinet, mostly of technocrats, which included as many as 11 new faces out of 14 members, including himself. MP Khaled Al-Otaibi welcomed the Cabinet, but insisted that it must cooperate with the Assembly to approve a number of legislation discussed with the former government.

Separately, the National Assembly on Thursday elected by acclamation MP Hamad Al-Matar as deputy secretary of the parliamentary caucus, Mohammad Al-Mahan as its secretary, and Hamad Al-Obaid as treasurer. This was announced during the first annual meeting of the general assembly of the parliamentary caucus in its second session of the 17th legislative term. Furthermore, the National Assembly elected by acclamation MPs Fahad bin Jame and Hani Shams as complementary members of the parliamentary caucus.