KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The Arab Parliamentary Scout Union (APSU) Forum entitled, ‘Empowerment’, opened Sunday under the patronage of National Assembly Speaker and Honorary Chairman of the union Marzouq Al-Ghanim. The forum will be launched officially on Monday in the presence of Al-Ghanim, as well as the Gulf and Arab participating delegations.

The forum, which will end on Thursday, covers a number of topics; such as ways to empower youths and women, sustainable development, volunteering activities, social responsibility, and consequences of the Covid-19 crisis. A workshop on the empowerment of youths and women was held on the first day of the forum, during which the importance of supporting the initiatives of youths and intensifying efforts toward economic development in Arab countries was emphasized.

During the workshop, Consultant at Arab Institute for Development Faisal Al-Menawer pointed out that the concept of empowerment depends on the expansion and development of capabilities in line with human resources and institutional capital, which includes diversifying sources of income and advanced technology. He highlighted the role of culture and economy in the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), indicating the cultural factor includes providing technical support for SMEs. He also called for adding the scout curriculum to the educational curricula, as well as issuing legislation aimed at improving scout participation in society.

Another workshop entitled, ‘Sustainable Development and Empowerment’, was held on the same day to review the 17 sustainable development goals specified by the United Nations, covering most aspects of life. Dr Nawaf Abu Shammala, also a consultant at Arab Institute for Development, stressed the importance of the 17 goals in laying down a clear plan for utilizing available resources and enhancing the capabilities of individuals in order to guarantee positive participation and positively deal with public institutions.

He considers sustainable and economic development as two sides of a coin in helping societies and countries as they are from fundamental resources like education and productive culture.

Meanwhile, re-elected Chairman of the Arab Parliamentary Scout Union MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji praised the efforts exerted by Al-Ghanim in supporting the union, while urging other speakers of Arab parliaments to join the union. In his speech at the 14th General Assembly of the union, Al-Turaiji said he is hoping that the participation of Arab parliaments will increase to include all Arab countries; disclosing the number of current participants is 15.

Delegations
He welcomed delegations from Algeria, Somalia, Iraq and Qatar that joined the union recently. He said that for the first time in the history of the union, a total of 170 individuals representing Arab parliaments and scout societies participated in the forum. He added this is the first forum being held based on academic and scientific criteria in coordination with the Arab Institute for Development. He also welcomed the observers including Secretary General of Arab Parliamentary Union Fayez Al-Shawabka and Chairman of Western Arab Scouts Union Rashed Al-Kharbachi. He expressed his gratitude to the leaders of the Tunisian and Algerian delegations who agreed on retaining the headquarters of the Arab Scouts Parliamentary Union in Kuwait, instead of relocating it to their countries.

On the other hand, MPs Osama Al-Menawer, Fayez Al- Jomhour, Badr Al-Humaidi, Saad Al-Khanfour, Ahmad Mutei Al-Azmi and Saleh Zeib Al-Mutairi have submitted a proposal to hold two special sessions -- one for voting on the proposed incentive for retirees amounting to KD3,000 and KD20 pension increase every year; while the other session is for discussing the recent threats to Kuwait as per the press statements of some Iraqi MPs, representatives of Iraqi political blocs and militant organizations.

These MPs argued that the above mentioned matters are urgent; hence, these are part of the tasks assigned to the resigned government according to Article 72 of the Constitution. They stressed the need to inform the resigned government about their proposal, urging it to attend the proposed sessions in order to provide the MPs with the relevant information.

Moreover, Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim sent cables to Speaker of the House of Representatives of Egypt HanafiAl-Jebali and Senate President Abdulwahab Al-Abdulrazzaq to express condolences for the victims of the terrorist attack on a water plant in the eastern ptart of the Suez Canal in Sinai. The attack resulted in the death of an army officer and 10 soldiers, as well as injuries to a number of individuals. He reaffirmed the position of Kuwait which supports Egypt in its fight against terrorism and threats. He prayed to Allah Almighty to be merciful to the victims, while wishing speedy recovery for the injured. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff