WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2013
LOCAL
Al-Ghanim satisfied with level of Arab, Islamic coordination IPU meeting in Geneva ‘a big success’ GENEVA: Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim expressed satisfaction with the level of coordination among participating Arab and Islamic parliamentarians at the 129th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) held in Geneva. On the fringes of the IPU meeting, AlGhanim told the press that all suggestions which were made yesterday at the consultative meeting of Arab delegations were considered during Monday’s meeting, especially that of unifying efforts towards common Arab and Islamic causes. He noted that the meeting approved joining two suggestions as a move to unify efforts: one suggestion was made by Morocco on the role of parlia-
ments in addressing the deliberate criminal destruction of world heritage sites. The second was made by Palestine on the construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands occupied since 1967. Al-Ghanim, who is head of the parliamentary committee at the Arab and Islamic level, extended an invitation for Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union member states to attend an extraordinary meeting in Kuwait, in order to discuss breaches of Al-Aqsa Mosque and to come up with a tangible solution to the Palestinian cause. The Arab parliamentary delegation rejected a European suggestion to amend the executive committee electoral system of IPU, and will work unani-
mously to drop the suggestion from being voted on after tomorrow, Al-Ghanim said. MPs Madhi AlHajri and Abdullah Al-Turaiji told the press that Bhutan’s membership in the IPU was approved and membership of other countries were frozen for not their lack of financial commitment to the organization. Meanwhile, two Kuwaiti MPs highlighted the need to back up the UN efforts to leverage the concepts of sustainable socio-economic development and decent life for all peoples across the world. Addressing the meeting of the Advisory Group of the IPU Committee on United Nations Affairs on the sidelines of the 129th IPU Assembly, Undersecretary of the National Assembly Caucus
Faisal Al-Shaye said Kuwait was keen on contributing to the UN efforts relating to promotion of international cooperation under the provisions of the UN Charter. “The Kuwaiti parliament responds promptly to the UN appeals for helping the countries in difficulties,” Al-Shaye said. “The parliament backs the Kuwaiti government contribution to the humanitarian role of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as shown in the hosting of the first International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria in last January,” he affirmed. Al-Shaye suggested launching ad hoc committee at the IPU member parliaments to facilitate coordination with the UN aid agencies in defining
the priorities of aid recipients and responding to them. Meanwhile, Secretary of the National Assembly Caucus Jamal Al-Omar said the new changes and developments around the globe require concerted efforts geared to realize sustainable development and normal life for all peoples of the world. He called for working out a clear-cut time schedule and in a viable and scientific way for realizing specific development goals in such areas as social, healthcare and culture. Al-Omar also underscored the shared responsibility for protecting environment against degradation, noting that there is as interrelation between development and environment. — KUNA
VIVA launches new packages for pilgrims
KUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait’s fastest-growing and most developed telecom operator, yesterday launched its latest roaming packages on the occasion of Hajj. VIVA’s new promotion is specially tailored for customers planning to go on their pilgrimage by offering them unlimited data roaming packages and competitive roaming voice packages that can be used while traveling in Saudi Arabia, to be used within the STC network as well as VIVA Bahrain, without having to worry about their bills. VIVA’s Roaming Data packages are a convenient and affordable way for postpaid, prepaid, and data line customers who are using BlackBerry, smartphones, tablets, or routers to surf the internet while they travel to Saudi Arabia. The special offer will give customers up to unlimited data roaming usage starting from KD 9 for bi-weekly subscription while the monthly package is for KD 18. VIVA also launched a new daily competitive data package for KD 2 giving customers 150MB for 24 hours. VIVA’s Roaming Voice package offers customers using the STC network the competitive price of 36fils per minute when calling back to Kuwait. Abdulrazzaq Bader Al-Essa - Director of Public Relation and Social Media at VIVA said: “Every year a big number of Kuwaiti citizens and residents travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform the Islamic ritual of Hajj, and the numbers are increasing steadily. At VIVA, we understand the importance of keeping communication channels between those performing their pilgrimage and their family; therefore we have launched this tailored data roaming package to meet their needs.” To receive the list of services and roaming packages, customers can send ‘3’ to ‘567’, and to find out more information about the Hajj roaming rates please visit any of VIVA’s branches across Kuwait. VIVA is the fastest-growing telecom operator in Kuwait. Launched in December 2008, VIVA makes things Possible for its customers by transforming communication, information and entertainment experiences. The company has rapidly established an unrivalled position in the market through its customer centric approach. VIVA’s quest is to be the mobile brand of choice in Kuwait by being transparent, engaging, energetic and fulfilling. VIVA continues to take a considerable share of the market by offering an innovative range of best value products, services and content propositions; a state of the art, nationwide network and world-class service.