KUWAIT: Kuwait has proposed the creation of a regional food security net for the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members states to ensure adequate and accessible food supplies as well as to meet basic food shortages in crisis times. The Kuwaiti proposal was raised by Minister of Commerce and Industry Khaled Al-Roudhan during the extraordinary meeting of the GCC commerce and industry ministers which was held Thursday via videoconference.

In a press statement following the meeting, Kuwait's Ministry of Commerce and Industry said the GCC ministers are working on paper for a unified vision about GCC food security to be studied and adopted soon. It further noted that Kuwait has also called for special arrangements at border control and customs posts to ensure the smooth movement of basic food and medicine supplies among GCC countries.

Moreover, the ministry pointed out that the GCC ministers have also discussed the expected economic ramifications of the novel coronavirus pandemic and the recommendations put forward by the undersecretaries of the commerce ministries across the region in this regard. The ministry emphasized that Kuwait will continue coordination of efforts and exchange of information with other GCC states at this delicate time to help secure food need.

It indicated that the meeting was held upon an invitation from the General Secretariat of the Council of GCC Ministers of Commerce in coordination with the Ministry of Economy in the United Arab Emirates which hold the council's rotating presidency. - KUNA