Kuwait forms new government

Kuwait formed a new government on Sunday, naming Saad Al Barrak as Oil Minister to replace Bader Al-Mulla and re-appointing Finance Minister, Manaf Abdulaziz Al Hajri, AFP reports.

According to the report, Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who was re-appointed as Prime Minister last week, formed the new cabinet announced in a decree carried by the state news agency, KUNA.

The Gulf Arab state also named a new Defence Minister, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, the report added.

The outgoing government had resigned, following parliamentary elections held earlier this month in the Gulf OPEC+ oil producer.

The report says Kuwait holds some of the world’s largest oil reserves and has strong fiscal and external balance sheets, but political bickering and institutional gridlock have hampered investment and reforms aimed at reducing its heavy reliance on oil revenues.

READ: Kuwait re-appoints Prime Minister in new government following elections