By B Izzak
KUWAIT: The interior ministry said on Tuesday that a decision requiring expats to pay telecommunications bills to be able to travel will be effective from Wednesday, Sept 6. The ministry called on expats in a statement to pay communications bills through the ministry of communications website or through the government’s Sahel application, before they plan to leave the country for any reason.
The communications ministry is the third governmental body to apply such a decision after the traffic department and the ministry of electricity and water. The interior ministry is also discussing with other ministries and other government departments to implement the same measure. MP Hasan Jowhar said on Tuesday he has sent a question to Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah about a ruling by Iraq’s top court nullifying a maritime agreement between Iraq and Kuwait.
The Iraqi federal supreme court ruled on Monday the ratification of the agreement between the two countries regulating navigation in Khor Abdullah waterway is unconstitutional. Jowhar said the Kuwaiti government and the foreign ministry have not issued any statement on the ruling, which threatens the legality of the agreement. The agreement was signed in 2012 and ratified by Iraq the following year.
Later on Tuesday, Sheikh Salem called his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein to discuss bilateral ties and the latest regional and international developments. The two sides also discussed during the phone call issues of mutual concern and matters that serve the common interests of both countries and their people, Kuwait's foreign ministry said in a statement.