Day: 30 April 2023

Maj. Gen. Majid Ibrahim Al Khulaifi, Director of the Elections Department of the Ministry of Interior and Chairman of the Supervisory Committee for the 7th Central Municipal Council (CMC) elections, affirmed the committee’s keenness on providing all facilities to citizens during the registration process for the CMC elections scheduled for June 22.

In a press statement today on the start of the voter registration process, Maj. Gen. Al Khulaifi said that all the 29 constituencies opened their doors today to receive male and female citizens to register on voter lists in preparation for the Central Municipal Council elections.

He added that the executive committees and voter registration committees provided all facilities and services to male and female citizens, which would facilitate the registration process whether at the headquarters of electoral constituencies or via Metrash 2.

He explained that the registration process can also be done manually at the polling stations from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm, or electronically via Metrash 2 around the clock.

Earlier today, the first stage of implementing the 7th CMC elections began as the headquarters of the 29 electoral districts in various parts of the country received requests for voter registration as well as registration via Metrash 2 service. The voter registration process is scheduled to continue until May 4.

According to the timetable for the electoral process, the preliminary voter lists will be announced at the polling stations, while appeal and grievance against these lists will be open on May 7. (QNA)

Source: Qatar News Agency

Qatar Charity provided relief aid for the benefit of patients, emergency teams, and medical personnel in hospitals in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, in cooperation with the Sudanese Ministry of Health and the Humanitarian Aid Commission.

The relief aid included more than 28 tons of food and ready-made meals, which were distributed to hospitals in Khartoum state, which suffer from food shortages because of the current events, adding that the work continues to provide more aid for the neediest groups who suffer from severe food shortages.

Dr. Muntasir Muhammad Othman, Director of the General Department of Emergency and Epidemic Control at the Federal Ministry of Health and the official spokesperson for the emergency room, explained that the food assistance provided by Qatar Charity helped a lot in continuing to provide health services in light of the scarcity of food and medicine supplies.

The Federal Humanitarian Aid Commission in Sudan praised the rapid response and intervention of Qatar Charity to support the health sector with foodstuffs. Patients, their companions, and the medical staff also expressed their thanks and deep appreciation for Qatar Charity’s quick response by providing food aid. (QNA)

Source: Qatar News Agency

The citizens’ registration process in the voter lists for the elections of the seventh session of the Central Municipal Council, scheduled for June 22, started Sunday in 29 polling stations.

The voter registration process takes place manually at the polling stations, from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm, or electronically all day via Metrash2 and will continue until Thursday, May 4.

The citizens have to register themselves at their electoral district or via Metrash2 using their IDs address. The person cannot register in more than one electoral district.

The Ministry of the Interior said that everyone who has previously been registered has the right to request a modification of his registration in another electoral district, according to the data of his current residence.

In statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA), several heads of voter registration committees confirmed that the registration process on the first day went smoothly and easily in light of the preparations of the Ministry of Interior, especially those related to providing the committees with appropriate technological systems for the registration process.

The supervisory committee for the 7th session of the Central Municipal Council elections had identified 29 public schools as electoral headquarters for 29 constituencies, which is the total number of constituencies in the various regions of the country.

In a statement issued on April 4, the committee underscored its keenness to select suitable schools to be electoral venues in terms of the availability of all facilities and requirements to facilitate the various electoral stages for the citizens.

According to the timetable, it was decided that the stage of receiving applications for voter registration will be from April 30 to May 4, provided that the initial lists of voters are announced on May 7, to begin on the same day the stage of receiving applications for appeals and grievances, which extends until May 11.

It was also decided that the stage of adjudication of appeals and grievances in the voter lists will take place from May 8 to 18, followed by the stage of announcing the final voter lists on May 21.

The committee set the stage for receiving nomination applications from May 21 to May 25 provided that the announcement of the initial lists of candidates takes place on May 28, 2023, so that the stage of receiving applications for appeals and grievances against the candidates’ lists begins on the same day and continues until June 5.

The process of adjudicating appeals will begin from May 29 to June 8, followed by the announcement of the final lists of candidates on June 11, and then the start of the electoral campaign on the same day, which continues until the electoral silence phase that precedes polling day.

The conditions that must be met by the voter are that his original nationality is Qatari or that fifteen years have passed since he acquired Qatari nationality, his age is not less than 18 years on May 4, 2023, has not previously been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or the trust unless he is restituted, he resides in the electoral district in which he has the right to vote, and he is not a worker in the armed forces or the police. (QNA)

Source: Qatar News Agency

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s strategic location at the confluence of three continents, Asia, Africa, and Europe, confers great influence to it and made it a global logistics hub. This strategic location contributed to the Kingdom becoming a leading country in the transport and logistics sector.

The Kingdom has 73,000 kilometers of roads, including 3,690 bridges and 76 tunnels that fall under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services. Moreover, the total number of flights in 2022 exceeded 700,000.

Given the fact that the transport and logistics sector in the Kingdom is the main engine of development, many effective plans had to be adopted to support the sector, to shorten distances and connect regions, as well as to facilitate the procedures accompanying the arrival and movement of visitors, tourists and pilgrims to the Two Holy Mosques, and to enable several other vital sectors to carry out their businesses and achieve their goals and aspirations, by providing all means, and preparing and developing the infrastructure.

Towards achieving the goals of Vision 2030, the Cabinet has approved the establishment of the Transport General Authority (TGA), and of the Center for Transportation Safety. It also approved the transfer of the task of supervising, regulating and controlling the postal services from the communications and information technology sector to the transportation and logistics services sector, in order to restructure and develop these services, in line with the comprehensive cultural renaissance that the Kingdom is witnessing in various fields.

The transport sector offers land, sea, air, rail, roads, and logistics services. These services are integrated and interrelated in order to help this and various other sectors in the country, leading to a renaissance in all fields and achieving the objectives of the national strategy for transport and logistics.

In 2022, 56 roads totaling ,6101 km were built, the terms of contracts pertaining to the field have been clearly spelled out, and 608 bridges and 37 tunnels were inspected and evaluated, in order to ensure that roads are in very good working conditions. During a campaign launched to check the situation of the road network, more than 14,000 issues were found and dealt with. At the same time, an initiative was also launched to improve the durability and quality of roads, as well as the maintenance operations.

In the land transport sector, in 2022, the regulatory framework for regulations and policies governing electric vehicles and self-driving vehicles was set, and the “Tajeer” portal was launched to automate car rental operations in the Kingdom. At the same time, five projects concerning public transportation by buses, within cities, were launched, in addition to a project to develop passenger transportation services by buses that connect more than 200 cities and governorates.

The compliance of licensed facilities dealing with all transport activities increased to 91 percent and shuttle buses to transport fans wishing to attend the 2022 World Cup matches in the State of Qatar were provided, which transported 400,000 individuals. Some 211 domestic destinations were also reached.

In the maritime transport sector, the Kingdom owns 13 ports on the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, and as a result of the leadership’s support, the Kingdom obtained the Maritime Quality Certificate for the twenty-first century from the US Coast Guard.

Also, six agreements were signed with marine classification agencies, and exceptional agreements with local, regional and global companies were signed to establish six integrated logistical areas, and 17 new navigation services linking the Kingdom’s ports with ports to the east and to the west, and enhancing commercial traffic were added. At the same time, Gate 9 of the Jeddah Islamic Port was expanded after the rehabilitation of the western road, and the foundation stone of the largest integrated logistics area in the Middle East was laid in the Jeddah Islamic Port. Investments in this project amount to SR1.3 billion; it will be situated on a 225,000 square meter area, and will offer investment opportunities in logistical areas to the private sector, increasing the number of logistical areas that include re-exports to 30 by 2030, in line with the objectives of the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services, which seek to consolidate the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics hub.

In air transport, Saudi Arabia was elected a member of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, until 2025, at ICAO’s 41st general assembly in Montreal, Canada. Saudi Arabia won a seat on ICAO Council through the exceptional vote of 156 member states. It hosted the Future of Aviation Conference 2022, launched the King Salman International Airport masterplan, two terminals (3 and 4) at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, expanded Al-Qaisumah Airport, making it an international airport, completed the institutional transformation of 25 airports, and operated daily flights around the clock to transport passengers to Qatar to attend the 2022 World Cup, which all made the Kingdom’s airports receive 88 million passengers in 2022. The total freight transported through the Kingdom’s airports in 2022 exceeded 623,000 tons.

Additionally, three international routes (Cairo-Jeddah, Dubai-Riyadh, Dubai-Jeddah) were among the 10 busiest in the world in terms of the number of flights in 2022 up to October 2022, according to a global ranking institution, while the most active internal route was Riyadh-Jeddah.

Also in 2022, more than 5.8 million passengers were transported via railway networks, a 115 percent increase compared to 2021. More than 1.3 million pilgrims were transported via Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro during the Hajj season 1443 AH, and more than 23 million tons of minerals and goods were transported via trains, a nine percent increase over 2021. The trains contributed to keeping 1.8 million trucks off the Kingdom’s roads.

The railway project linking the North and East networks and the Jubail inner network were launched, Al-Qurayyat passenger train station was inaugurated, car freight service via passenger trains in the North Railway was also inaugurated, the Railway Industrial Opportunities Forum was held, and 24 memoranda of understanding and 15 agreements in the field of rail transport were signed.

Concerning the postal sector, the achievements include an increase in the number of registrants in the short national address, which exceeded 20.2 million, the geographical coverage by post in the Kingdom reached 100 percent, the level of customer service improved, and new contracts were signed with partners from the private sector.

Also, the female employee virtual service “Maha” was launched, which has served nearly 2.9 million customers.

The transportation system will continue to record new achievements, to meet the goals of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, which is an integral part of Saudi Vision 2030.

The Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services is a key partner and a vital sector that contributes to achieving the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030. Its efforts affected many other sectors, enabling them to achieve their goals and serve the country and its citizens. The National Transport and Logistics Strategy launched by HRH the Crown Prince in mid-2021 includes several initiatives and programs that will help achieve the goals of several sectors and consolidate the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics hub.

The launch of the strategy helps in developing the sector through its many quality projects that will enhance the Kingdom’s position and competitiveness regionally and globally. The strategy works to diversify the Saudi economy, consolidate its link with the global economy, and develop local content, equivalent to 33 percent of the sector’s costs, to support sustainable development.

The logistic services are a major driver for the non-oil sectors and a pivotal supporter of economic development and sustainability in the Kingdom.

The strategy includes the establishment of global logistical platforms and zones, and international hubs for aviation, as well as developing the port infrastructure, expanding their absorptive capacity, and raising their operational efficiency by empowering and investing resources to support sustainable development, noting that one of the main objectives of the national strategy for transport and logistics is to increase the contribution of the transport sector and logistics services to the national GDP to ten percent instead of the current six percent.

It aims to achieve several ambitious goals, mainly putting the Kingdom on the list of the top 10 countries in the logistical performance index, as well as helping it go higher in the cross-border trade index, having the Kingdom among the first 35 countries in the world in this field, compared to its current ranking of 86, and among the best six countries in the road quality index and maintaining the Kingdom’s global leadership in road network connectivity.

The minister said that Saudi Arabia leads the world in this indicator. It will also increase the capacity to reach 330 million passengers and ship more than 4.5 million tons by air annually, in addition to reaching more than 250 international destinations

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Undersecretary of Kuwait’s Ministry of Finance Aseel Al-Munifi affirmed late Saturday Kuwait’s keenness to support the work of the Arab financial institutions to enhance the economic cooperation and integration.

In a statement to KUNA, following the conclusion of the joint annual meetings held in Rabat, she stressed on Kuwait’s keenness to accomplish the goals of the Arab financial institutions in order to achieve development and economic prosperity for Arabs.

Al-Munifi, who headed Kuwait’s delegation, said that the financial institutions represents the Arab economic cooperation, integration and joint Arab action, noting that they succeeded in financing economic and social projects in Arab countries.

The Arab financial institutions concluded their annual meetings by selecting a chairman for the upcoming meetings, as well as approving the board of directors reports for the year 2022.

Arab ministers of finance and economy and central bank governors participated in the meetings to discuss financing and supporting economic and social development programs in the Arab countries

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah submitted her credentials as the new Ambassador of Kuwait to Washington during a meeting with US President Joe Biden, said a statement on Sunday.

The Kuwaiti Embassy in the Washington, in a statement obtained by KUNA, indicated that Ambassador Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah conveyed greetings from His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to President Biden.

The Kuwaiti Ambassador affirmed that she would work on measures to bolster the historic relations linking the two countries, enhancing them in all possible domains.

She revealed that boosting commercial and economic ties were very important, stressing that it was necessary to provide small and medium-size enterprises with a chance to contribute to the rich and diverse relations.

Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah also noted that the two countries were keen on extending strategic cooperation within the political and military sectors to bolster her country’s security and stability in addition to achieving the interest of both parties.

She went on to say that boosting cultural cooperation was also a priority for the embassy, adding that she would also hold regular meetings with Kuwaiti students in the US to look into their needs and encourage them to excel.

Ambassador Sheikha Al-Zain also affirmed that she would coordinate efforts of the Kuwaiti health office in the US to look into the affairs of Kuwaiti patients and their family members seeking treatment to the country

Source: Kuwait News Agency

The President of the Republic, Dr. Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, today, Sunday, visited the University of Mosul, to attend one of the activities of the Spring Festival, accompanied by the Minister of Culture Ahmed Fakak Al-Badrani, the Minister of Migration and Displacement Evan Faiq Jabro, and the Governor of Nineveh Najm Al-Jubouri, in addition to a number of officials and university professors.

The President attended a performance by the Iraqi Fashion House and a performance by the Folklore Band in the Grand Celebration Hall of the university, as part of the activities of the Spring Festival, which started this morning in Mosul.

The President of the Republic praised the University of Mosul and its youth and students for their great efforts for the sake of their city, stressing the need to support the province and work to consolidate and establish security and stability./ End

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, stressed the parliament’s keenness to overcome all administrative obstacles and problems that the people of Khanaqin district suffer from, and there is continuous communication with the federal government to find ways to solve the obstacles and problems facing the people in Khanaqin district.

During his reception today, a delegation of tribal sheikhs and notables of Khanaqin district, Mandalawi mentioned the importance of communication between citizens and the House of Representatives and discussing the file of providing services, developing administrative work and completing service projects for all the Iraqi people, promising them to exert more effort at all levels for the purpose of solving outstanding problems.

Al-Mandalawi welcomed the visiting delegation of sheikhs and notables, indicating that the House of Representatives, the Finance Committee and the supporting committees with it continue their work diligently for the purpose of completing the state’s general budget as soon as possible for the purpose of financing projects for developing infrastructure for all Iraqi governorates, districts and cities, including Khanaqin district./ End

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

A security source announced that two people working in the grain trade were injured in an armed attack carried out by unknown persons on their civilian vehicles in the Abu Ghraib area./ End

Source: National Iraqi News Agency