Kuwait's National Assembly (parliament) on Wednesday endorsed the Cabinet’s proposal to refer the draft law on purchasing and rescheduling citizens’ loans back to the Finance and Economic Affairs Committee at the Parliament. According to Kuna, this came after Deputy Premier and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Faisal Al-Hajji conveyed that the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah had asked the Cabinet to look into the possibility of establishing a fund with a capital of KD 300 million (US$1.09 billion) to pay the debts of financially-deprived citizens.

The Kuwaiti Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali confirmed the Cabinet would study the ruler’s wish and submit a draft law on the establishment of the fund to the Parliament.  He requested the lawmakers to postpone talks on the proposal to buy and reschedule the citizens’ loans until the government submits the draft law on the fund. Despite the objection of several MPs, 33 legislators out of 63 attendees approved the government’s request.