5LOCALARAB TIMES, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2017

Al-Fayez hails Saudi King’s visit: The Saudi Ambassador to Kuwait Dr Abdulaziz Al-Fayez praised the historic visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Sheikh Salman bin Abdulaziz to Kuwait, stressing that the visit was within the framework of enhancement of Gulf relations and the march of coopera-tion among the GCC countries, reports Al-Rai daily.

In an interview, the ambassador said he remembers the policy of diplomacy adopted by the Royal Highness Prince Saoud Al-Faisal and his wisdom in handling the regional circumstances.

He highlighted the cooperation between the embassy and Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs with the aim of offering all facilities to Kuwaiti and expatriate Hajj pilgrims and Umra performers.

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DGCA head banned issuing press releases: Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a circular to declare that the head of DGCA is banned from issuing any press releases or statements to reporters of various mass media, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The circular clarified that DGCA has appointed Mansour Al-Hashimi as the official spokesperson of DGCA and he will be in charge of coordinating and com-municating with various mass media and relevant bodies.

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Wastage of public funds: The State Audit Bureau has stressed that non-determination of the salary ceiling for citizens who work in the private sector and deserve the national labor subsidy will lead to wastage of public funds, reports Aljarida daily.

It indicated that the lack of this move will result in dis-bursement of national labor subsidy to undeserving cases which will impose financial burden on the State Treasury.

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Petrol stations allotment closed: The petrol stations allotted by the National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Development to young entrepreneurs have been closed for an indefinite period, reports Al-Anba daily quoting informed sources.

These sources did not reveal further details about the reasons behind this decision.

It is worth mentioning that the fund cooperated with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation to grant young entrepre-neurs 43 fuel stations in the next phases. Former acting minister of oil Anas Al-Saleh had working on a mecha-nism for managing these stations.

News in Brief

Group photo of volunteers participating in the drive.

‘Hemaya’ campaign targets safety of employeesHead of safety campaign ‘Hemaya’ Dr Manal Bu Hamid said the drive targets the safety of employees

and promotes international criteria to reduce accidents. He stressed that 15 volunteers representing

Civil Society Organizations and vocational groups are participating in the campaign to promote safe

and a healthy work environment.Head of Kuwait University Emplo-

yees Association Haitham Al-Hajri

said the importance of approving new laws that match up industrial advancement in order to reach the

best levels of vocational security, while providing the needed protection to employees and other laborers.

Amir’s visit to Oman in light ofclose harmony at various levels

Omani-Kuwaiti ties solid, deeply rooted

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 19, (KUNA): His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is scheduled to pay an official visit to the Sultanate of Oman on Monday during which he would hold talks with Sultan Qaboos on a host of issues at the bilateral and regional levels.

Kuwaiti and Omani officials have regularly exchanged visits, particularly over the past years, namely Sultan’s Qaboos’ coming to Kuwait in 2012 in response to an invitation by His Highness the Amir.

The Kuwaiti-Omani relations are known as historic and the two coun-tries are bonded by a common desti-ny. The two GCC countries’ leader-ships have been keen on cementing these ties and mutual cooperation.

Oman stood on Kuwait’s side in the face of the blatant Iraqi aggres-sion in 1990. It had also taken part in liberating the country and hosted a large number of Kuwaiti citizens dur-ing the plight in the 90s.

At the economic level, the supreme joint commission plays a key role in bolstering the ties between the two brotherly countries. In March, 2001, they agreed on forming the committee to cement the coordination in the eco-nomic, commercial and tourist realms.

Officials from the two countries held a chain of meetings in 2015 discussing cooperation in the sectors of education,

scientific research and youth. They resulted in inking a number of memos and executive programs, adding to more than 20 previously-signed ones.

Kuwait is a prime contributor to developing Oman’s infrastructure.

According to official figures, trade exchanges between the two countries rose in 2013 to US$ 609 million, higher by 30 percent as compared to 2012. Kuwaiti exports to the Sultanate in 2013 reached US$ 124 million, while the imports from Oman amounted to US$ 486 million.

Volume of Kuwaiti investments in Oman in 2014 reached some US$ one billion. Moreover, there are some

9,000 Kuwaiti investors operating in the Sultanate.

Meanwhile, the leading Omani newspaper, Oman, affirmed in an arti-cle published on Sunday significance of scheduled visit to the Sultanate by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The Omani-Kuwaiti ties have been solid and deeply rooted due to keen-ness on part of Sultan Qaboos and His Highness the Amir on maintain-ing the close relations, Oman said.

Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad’s three-day visit will be a State visit, Oman newspaper added, indicating that the visit coincided with critical regional

developments; such events warrant views’ exchange at the highest eche-lons of the ruling hierarchies in the two GCC States.

Close consultations between His Highness the Amir and Sultan Qaboos are needed to stop the blood shedding in several Arab countries and resolve regional conflicts peacefully.

Oman newspaper also noted the two countries’ keenness on regional peace, security, stability and prosperity.

In Kuwait, it was officially annou-nced that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad and an offi-cial delegation accompanying would pay an official visit to Oman on Feb 20.

Director of the Center for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies affiliated to Kuwait University Prof Mohammad Ghanim Al-Rumaihi received the Head of National Records and Archives Authority of Oman Dr Hamad bin Mohammad Al-Duyani and the accompanying delegation. Prof Al-Rumaihi presented comprehensive information about the nature of work at the center, its specializations and its policy. The two parties agreed to exchange experiences and information aimed

at enhancing cooperation among the Gulf countries.

‘Prices low on racks, higher at cash counter’

Kuwaitis and expats bitter overcommodity prices manipulation

By Najeh BilalAl-Seyassah Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 19: A number of Kuwaitis and expatriates expressed resentment over the widespread manipu-lation of commodity prices in many stores. They urged for increased monitor-ing of markets by the concerned authori-ties in order to bring an end to this nega-tive phenomenon.

Omar Zedan explained that some stores cheat by displaying low prices on the racks but charge higher prices at the cash counters. They take advantage of the tiredness that customers experience from shopping for a long time, which renders them unable to review the receipts.

Adel Amir revealed that he has recent-ly adopted the practice of checking the prices at the cash counter, as he has been a victim of several swindling acts.

He urged the monitoring bodies to focus their observation on such stores.

Umm Yousef said the phenomenon of

cheating customers has become wide-spread extending even to the cooperative societies. For example, inside cartons of fruits and vegetables, the good fruits or vegetables are placed on top while the rotten ones are hidden underneath.

A Kuwaiti citizen Abu Abdullah indi-cated that manipulation of prices is done in many ways. He revealed that he once bought an item for KD 2 but when he discovered the actual price was KD 1.700, he complained to the administra-tion and the latter apologized.

Another citizen Saleh Al-Enezi revealed that he picked a bottle of oil with price marked on the racks as KD 0.990 but when he went to the cash coun-ter, he was shocked to realize the actual price was KD 1.300. When he com-plained to the cashier, the latter said the cost of KD 0.990 is of another product.

Zaki Saleem said some stores place the price tags on the racks in a deceiving manner such that they overlap with the price tags of other commodities.

KUNA photoSheikha Fadia Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, the Board Chair of Al-Saad Charity for Knowledge and Scientific

Research during the closing ceremony of the local qualification of the scientific contest.