KUWAIT: The cabinet lauded on Monday Kuwait's improved ranking in the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of 2018, which saw the country place at the 78, a 5.1 percent improvement from the 85 spot in 2017. During its weekly meeting chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister State for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh said that Minister of Justice and Minister of State National Assembly Affairs Fahad Al-Afasi briefed the meeting on the matter. Minister Afasi quoted a report by the Public Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) regarding Kuwait's improved ranking. The cabinet commended the efforts by Nazaha to improve Kuwait's anti-corruption ranking, asking it to continue its action towards combating corruption.

Kuwait, among few other countries, was able to achieve progress in anti-corruption efforts, particularly in political, administrative, and economic sectors, a Transparency International's annual report said. The CPI index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.

Meanwhile, Minister Saleh said that His Highness the Prime Minister briefed the cabinet regarding the visit by Qatari Amir Tamim Al-Thani to the country. He added that the cabinet congratulated the Qatari Amir on his country's winning the Asian Football Cup 2019 held in the UAE, expressing similar sentiments for the Emiratis for successfully organization of such a prestigious tournament.

Minister Saleh said that the cabinet welcomed the safe return of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad to Kuwait, wishing him success in attending to his duties under the leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The cabinet of ministers, said Saleh, paid tribute to former Minister of Water and Electricity Khalaf Al-Khalaf who passed away recently. The cabinet congratulated the new King of Malaysia Sultan Abdullah bin Sultan Ahmad Shah on assuming post, wishing and his people and country evermore progress and welfare. - KUNA