Kuwait signed a memorandum on Tuesday boosting its partnership with the UN regarding policies towards empowering the youth.
The signing coincided with marking the World Youth Day (WYD). Minister of Information and State Minister for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem Al-Sabah said at today's celebration of WYD that Kuwait has paid great attention over the years for the needs of the youth in the country, so much so that the government established a ministry for their affairs which he heads.
He said the Ministry of Youth Affairs has given enormous incentives to the youth of Kuwait to excel in their chosen endeavors and vocations.
He indicated the government's care for young people with special needs as has been recently evidenced in the world wide trip of the Kuwaiti boat carrying a number of young Kuwaitis with mental disabilities spreading that message of care.
The boat trip, dubbed The boat of Hope, was sponsored jointly by the people and government of Kuwait, said the minister.
He valued Kuwait's partnership with UN's development program (UNDP) branch office in Kuwait, saying the partnership served the aspirations of Kuwait youth.
UNDP's coordinator in Kuwait Dr. Mubashar Riaz Sheikh spoke also on the occasion of "World Youth Day" praising Kuwait's efforts at addressing issues close to the hearts of young people, noting that 60 percent of Kuwait's population fall in that category.
He cited a number of notable successes by young Kuwaitis, namely the novelist Saud Al-Sanousi, who won the world prize for Arab fiction, and the inventor Muhammad Sadiq, who also won some international awards for his inventions, and Lulwa Al-Ayoub, a female fencing champion, who was honored recently by the GCC for clinching the bronze medal in a world fencing championship.
Dr. Mubashar looked forward to more cooperation between the UNDP and the Ministry of Youth Affairs in years to come.