21,643 applications received to establish companies: MoCI

Thousands of worshippers spent the second night of the last ten days of Ramadan in prayer at various Ramadan centers affiliated to the Mosques Sector of Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate. The centers were fully packed with devotees who prayed in solicitation of the blessings of the ‘Night of Power’. The Mosques Sector has been keen on ensuring comfort and providing various services for the worshippers amid tight security measures put in place. The department honored a number of Quran memorizers and winners of the Yousef Abdulrahman Quran Competition held at Haya Al-Ibrahim Mosque in Abu Al-Hassaniya area in the presence of sponsors and officials from the department

KUWAIT CITY, June 7, (Agencies): Saudi authorities have agreed to host 1,000 illegal residents from Kuwait to perform upcoming pilgrimage, Minister of Justice Dr Fahad Al-Afasi announced on Thursday. Justice Al-Afasi, also the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, said in a statement that the Saudi approval came in line with consent of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz.Kuwaiti authorities addressed the request to allow illegal residents in Kuwait to perform the annual religious rituals at the sacred sites in the kingdom. Saudi Hajj Ministry submitted the request to the monarch who approved it. Minister Al-Afasi expressed gratitude to King Salman and the Saudi Hajj Minister for the approval as well as for their efforts to serve the pilgrims. He also lauded contributions in this vein by the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the kingdom, Sheikh Thamer Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who had exerted tremendous efforts in this respect.The Ministry of Awqaf will offer all possible facilities to help this segment of the population of Kuwait — such as attaining reasonable prices for travel and other hajj requirements. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has announced that Kuwait Business Center received 21,643 applications for establishment of companies from the beginning of January until the end of May, reports Al-Anba daily. In a press statement, the ministry also revealed that a total of 4,554 licenses for various activities have been issued since the beginning of this year.The number of firms which have been established reached 5,928 while 3,063 companies are in the process of establishment. The number of rejected applications totaled 10,615 due to errors in commercial names or addresses because the commercial name is registered under another license. Furthermore, the Citizenship and Passports Affairs General Department in the Ministry of Interior has so far issued about 800,000 electronic passports since the implementation of the decision to replace old passports in March last year, reports Al-Anba daily quoting a security source. The source said the crowd in the centers for replacing old passports in the six governorates returned when summer started, while denying the alleged extension of the period for replacing old passports which ends on June 30. He explained the Foreign Affairs Ministry is the concerned body that specified the deadline in line with the international treaty on the issuance of e-passports to citizens.