L O C A LWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

KUWAIT: Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah (center) inaugurates the 9thInternational Invention Fair of Middle East. —KUNA

Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah visits Kuwait Science Club’s booth.

KUWAIT: Under the patronage of His Highnessthe Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the 9th International Invention Fair ofMiddle East (IIFME) kicked off Monday evening,with the participation of nearly 200 inventorsfrom across the globe. “The IIFME has become aglobally-admired Kuwaiti event,” Minister ofState for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh MohammadAbdullah Al-Sabah said in the inaugural speech.

He pointed out that IIFME has broughttogether inventors and inventors from the fourcorners of the globe to exchange ideas and

expertise. He lauded the IIFME as the secondlargest international exhibition for inventionsafter the International Invention Exhibition ofGeneva. “Every year, the IIFME showcases aplethora of impressive Kuwaiti, Gulf and Arabinventions,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gulf Cooperation CouncilSecretary General Abdullatif Al-Zayani laudedKuwait’s hosting of the event that aims to fosterinvention and creativity. He added that Kuwait’sembracing of inventors and their inventionsembodies its great interest in promoting cre-

ative thinking. Zayani applauded the displayedinventions which meets the needs of the societyand shows potential and skills of young inventorsand their endeavors to better serve their soci-eties. In the meantime, Assistant Undersecretaryof the Ministry of Commerce Sheikh Namer Al-Sabah voiced appreciation of His Highness theAmir’s sponsorship of the event. His Highness theAmir’s patronage of the IIFME reflects his supportto youth in general and young inventors in par-ticular, he said. He clarified that the ministry ofcommerce is providing all necessary help for

inventors register their inventions and recordtheir patent and intellectual rights.

Furthermore, Head of the IIFME organizingcommittee Talal Al-Kharafi unveiled over 200inventors from 36 countries are showcasingtheir inventions in IIFME during the period 16 to19 January. He noted that Kuwait is representedin the event with 32 inventors.

The event, themed “investor-inventor meet-ing aims to bring international, Arab, Gulf, andKuwaiti inventors and investors together, hesaid. He added that it is also meant to build a

community for regional and international inven-tors from all over the world under a uniqueumbrella in the exhibition’s hall at the KuwaitiScientific Club.

The fair will offer cash awards totaling in val-ue $100,000; these include a grand prix of$15,000, the KSC prize - $10,000, the GCC PatentOffice prize - 50,000 Saudi riyals for the threetop winners from the GCC countries, the awardof the International Exhibition of Geneva -$15,000, and an award from World IntellectualProperty Organization (WIPO). — KUNA

9th International Invention Fair of Middle East kicks off

KUWAIT: Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah visits Zain’s booth at the 9thInternational Invention Fair of Middle East.

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecom-munications company in Kuwait,announced its strategic partnership ofthe 9th International Invention FairMiddle East. The event is held underthe patronage of His Highness theAmir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-JaberAl-Sabah, and runs from 16-19January 2017.

Zain participated in the openingceremony through its booth, whichwelcomed His Highness the Amir’srepresentative His Excellency Ministerof State for Cabinet Affairs SheikhMohammed Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Secretary General of the GulfCooperation Council Abdullatif Al-Zayani, and Vice Chairman of theKuwait Science Club Talal Al-Kharafi.

Zain’s support of this major eventsince its inception is part of the com-pany’s Corporate Sustainability andsocial Responsibility strategy, whichaims at supporting the scientific arenaand contribute to the further develop-ment of the scientific field in Kuwaitand the region. The Invention FairMiddle East brings together a largenumber of local, regional, and interna-tional inventors who jointly exchangeknowledge and experiences.

The International Invention Fair isone of the most significant and largestspecialized exhibitions of inventionsin the Middle East, and is consideredas the second largest exhibition of itskind in the world. The event is part ofthe International Exhibition of

Geneva, and offers an opportunity forinventions from different cultures tobe exhibited and the strengthening ofrelationships among inventors andinvestors.

Zain is keen on encouragingKuwaiti and Arab talents, especiallyKuwaiti inventors, in the fields of sci-ence and innovation side by side withinternational experts. Zain supportssuch areas as it believes it offers avaluable opportunity for young inven-tors to benefit from the expertise andknowledge of international inventors.The company will continue to fosteryoung talents, believing that the cur-rent generation of youngsters holdsto the keys to the future developmentof Kuwait.

Zain strategic partner of 9thInt’l Invention Fair Middle East

By Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: The issue of bedoons orstateless residents needs to be solvedas soon as possible because of itshumanitarian nature, a lawmaker saidyesterday, accusing authorities con-cerned with the topic of deliberatelydelaying any solution for the decades-old problem.

MP Abdullah Fahhad Al-Enezi fur-ther said in a press statement that theCentral Apparatus for I l legalResidents, which was established anumber of years ago to find a finalsolution to the bedoons’ problem,should be dissolved and merged intothe Interior Ministry after it failed toachieve its targeted goals.

“ This issue bedoons’ has beenturned into an experiment field forofficials at the central apparatus,” heunderlined, noting that many state-less residents remain deprived ofbasic human rights including accessto permanent ‘security IDs’ or any formof identification. Instead of traditionalcivil IDs, the Kuwaiti governmentstarted in recent years to hand oversecurity IDs that can be used to haveaccess to a number government serv-ices, but not to all privileges that a civ-il ID holder normally receives.Furthermore, people that the govern-ment says are not qualified for consid-eration to receive the Kuwaiti citizen-

ship are often given temporary IDsvalid for up to six months, while insome cases bedoons were not givenany IDs.

Disability filesThe Public Authority for Disabled

People’s Affairs is already half waythrough examining an estimated totalof 57,000 files it has for disabled citi-zens who take advantage of privilegesthe government provides for people

with special needs. So far, only eightcases were referred to the public pros-ecution on suspicions of forgery,Director Dr Shafiqa Al-Awadhi saidduring a press conference yesterday.The examination process had wentunderway recently in order to revealcases involving people suspected offorging official documents presentedto the authority in order to obtain

special privileges illegally. Dr Awadialso announced yesterday that a proj-ect of ‘automating’ the authority’sservices is set to conclude by April,after which finalizing transactionswould become available online. Shealso noted that a new receptionlounge is being built at the authority’sbuilding to receive transactions fromdisabled citizens only, thus helpingthem avoid crowding.

Dr Nadia Abul, the Deputy Directorfor Medical Services at the authority,said during the same press confer-ence that examining the files revealednumerous violations, such as forgeryto change the severity of the disabilitywithout providing due reports. Sheadded that a medical committee com-prising 68 doctors was transferred tothe authority’s headquarters to facili-tate and accelerate finalizing thetransactions.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director forEducation Services Majed Al-Salehhighlighted the significance of provid-ing quality education at schools forstudents with special needs, addingthat such schools in Kuwait are sub-jected to periodic quality controlinspections. Saleh further indicatedthat early intervention centers for chil-dren up to the age of six are set toopen in various areas around Kuwaitto provide residents with handy serv-ices within their reach.

MP: Bedoons’ issuedeliberately delayedEight suspicious disability files referred to prosecution

MP Abdullah Fahhad Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: Horeca Kuwait effectively con-tributes in boosting commercialexchanges among participating compa-nies and supports their expansion plans,a number of economist and business-men stressed yesterday. The exhibitionalso plays a significant role in supportingyoung Kuwaiti entrepreneurs who wantto start their own small projects andhelps them develop according to inte-grated and systematic basis, they added.

The three-day exhibition, which wasinaugurated by Minister of Informationand Minister of State for Youth AffairsSheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabahon Monday, showcases solutions todevelop the hospitality, catering andhotel equipment sectors, the econo-mists indicated, adding that Horeca hasbecome a major event in terms of help-ing achieve development in severaleconomic fields including tourism,transportation and energy.

Over 15 diplomats attended theopening ceremony, including the

ambassadors of Germany, Italy, Brazil,Holland, Malta, Romania, Mexico, India,Algeria, in addition to former Lebaneseambassador Khodor Helweh. A largenumber of businessmen and representa-tives of local, Arab and foreign mediaoutlets also attended the event..

Speaking on the occasion, MabrookCompany’s General Manager Ali Farhatstressed that Horeca has economic ben-efits especially considering the develop-ment upsurge Kuwait is currently wit-nessing in the form of mega develop-ment, housing and tourism projects, inaddition to the increase in the numberof hotels and restaurants.

Meanwhile, Boecker’s AdministrativeAssociate Abraham Hilal said that Horecais an ideal platform to enhance the per-formance of vital sectors, adding that itplays an effective role in boosting Kuwait’sdevelopmental ambitions in the fields ofhospitality and food industries. He alsonoted that Horeca supports the Kuwaitigovernment’s plans to diversify sources of

income, develop local tourism and createjob opportunities for young Kuwaitis.

Farm Land’s General Manager AntoineObeid expressed excitement with therecurrent success that Horeca hasachieved in recent years, saying that it hasbecome a major forum for experts intourism, hospitality, travel and food indus-tries from Kuwait and the Middle East.Ghazi Al-Nafisi, Head of Kuwait the HotelOwners Society also commendedHoreca’s role and stressed that it helpsdiversify sources of national income andencourage young entrepreneurs.Furthermore, Osman and Bisher’sManaging Director Sahani Jagdeep saidthat the exhibition has earned a great rep-utation among hospitality experts, andhighly praised the activities held during it.

Moreover, Protein Company’s GeneralManager Fadi Jebran and MoroojCompany’s Deputy Director MohammedAhmed Al-Farhan agreed that HorecaKuwait is an optimal venue to displayand promote exclusive products andsupport expansion strategies. Also com-menting on the exhibition, BanoProfessional Mix Company’s GeneralManager Tawfiq Essam Al- Hashwi saidthat Horeca plays a major role in sup-porting small and medium enterprisesand encourage young people to join theprivate sector. Finally, chef Samaan Hilal,head of the international cooking com-petition’s judging panel, said that theHoreca cooking competition, whichtakes place as part of the event, includescontests for food items representing sev-eral international cuisines. Adding thatthe judging panel includes a number ofhighly experienced chefs from aroundthe world.

Horeca leads Kuwait’s economic,touristic drive: Economists

Over 80 companies take part in Horeca 2017

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Multiple arrests were madeyesterday in a police raid in a Zahrahouse whae liquor was brewed forsale in violation of the law. The opera-tion was carried out based on investi-gations which confirmed informationdetectives had received earlier thatthe house was turned into an illegalbrewery. A group of persons, all ofAsian nationalities, were arrested dur-ing the raid, the Interior Ministry saidin a statement without specifying thenumber of people arrested. The sus-pects reportedly rented the housefrom its original owner and used it tofacilitate their illegal activity, accord-

ing to the statement. They were takento the proper authorities for furtheraction.

Fatal accidentTwo women were killed and seven

other people were injured in a trafficaccident reported at the Mutla’a Roadyesterday. Further details about theaccident could not immediately beknown.

Motorists hurtAt least one motorist was reported

injured in a two-vehicle collisionreported in the desert southwest ofSabah Al-Ahmad area. Firefighters,paramedics and police rushed to the

scene in response to an emergencycall, then freed the two drivers whowere trapped inside their wreckedvehicles. One driver was transportedvia medevac to the nearest medicalfacility. An investigation was openedto determine the circumstancesbehind the accident.

Roaming vendorsKuwait Municipality inspectors

confiscated three truckloads of elec-tric appliances and used furnitureduring a crackdown against illegalroaming vendors in Khaitan. Threetruckloads of vegetables and fruitswere also confiscated during thesame campaign.

KUWAIT: This photo released by the Interior Ministryyesterday shows barrels filled with liquor busted insidea home in Zahra.

An image grabbed from social media shows thealleged scene of a fatal crash reported at Mutla’a Roadyesterday.

Suspects arrested in home-turned-brewery