Kuwait and Saudi Arabia Sign Deal to Resume Joint Oil Output
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RABIA ALTHANI 28, 1441 AH WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2019 28 Pages Max 23º Min 07º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 18019 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Kuwait and Saudi Arabia sign deal to resume joint oil output Agreement also inked on demarcation of land and maritime borders By Faten Omar and Agencies KUWAIT: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed agreements yesterday to resume pumping at two major oilfields in a shared neutral zone shut for five years due to a bilateral disagreement. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah and Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud inked the deals. Kuwaiti Minister of Oil and Minister of Electricity and Water Khaled Al-Fadhel and the Saudi minister of energy signed a memo of understanding. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia’s collective histories are dot- ted with instances of “exemplary cooperation”, Fadhel said during a lavish ceremony held at Wafra Joint Operations later yesterday. Production from the Khafji and Wafra fields will not affect the two countries’ OPEC commitments to reduce oil output, added the minister, expressing hope that resumed production would pay dividends for the Kuwaiti and Saudi economies. Prince Abdulaziz said talks between his country and Kuwait on the neutral zone in the past few years focused more on “harmony” rather than striking a deal. On the sidelines of the deal’s signing ceremony, the Saudi minis- ter commended the brotherly relationship between HH KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohamed Al-Sabah KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receives yesterday at the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- exchanges documents with Saudi Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman during Bayan Palace Waleed Musaed Al-Tabtabaei (left) and Mohammad Nayef Al-Dosari and Sabah and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, describing an official ceremony at the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry headquarters in Kuwait City their families, who thanked him for granting them Amiri pardons. — KUNA it as a basis of the Kuwaiti-Saudi partnership. yesterday. — KUNA Continued on Page 24 New ministers take oath in Assembly amid walkouts By B Izzak KUWAIT: The new Cabinet members yesterday took the oath of office to become members of parliament, as three opposition lawmakers walked out of the session during the ceremony. MPs Adel Al-Damkhi, Mohammad Hayef and Mohammad Al-Mutair were protesting at the inclusion of Ghadeer Aseeri as minister of social affairs and labor, who had tweeted in support of anti-govern- ment protests in Bahrain and called on Gulf troops to pull out of the nation. The opposition MPs had threat- ened to grill Prime Minister HH Sheikh Sabah Al- Khaled Al-Sabah if he did not dismiss the minister, but they have done nothing so far. The Assembly however made an unusually large number of decisions, including asking the Audit Bureau to investigate the multibillion-dollar deal to buy KUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Ghadeer Eurofighter warplanes and other allegations of corrup- Aseeri takes the oath of office at the National Assembly tion. MPs also voted to ask the legal and legislative yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat committee to speed up debating bills calling for a gen- eral amnesty for political prisoners and report back to issue will be voted on in the house. Opposition MPs the Assembly, setting Jan 7 as the date to debate the hope to pass the legislation to exonerate a number of bill. But the government expressed reservations over former opposition MPs and activists sentenced to the issue. heavy jail terms for storming the Assembly building Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said he in 2011. The men have been living abroad for close to believes the general amnesty or pardon should be 18 months. requested and not imposed, adding that he hopes the Continued on Page 24 Popular Mideast app pulled after spying report WASHINGTON: A popular mobile application developed in the United Arab Emirates has been removed from both and Android devices into handing over access to their loca- Apple and Google’s online marketplaces following a report tion and private data on their devices. “You have access to it was used for widespread spying. The moves come after users’ address books, chats, location and more, in a com- The New York Times reported Saturday the app ToTok pletely ‘legitimate’, Apple-approved manner!” the allowed tracking of conversations, movements, and other researcher wrote. He likened ToTok’s data collection to that details of people who installed it on their phone. of the US National Security Agency’s “bulk collection” of Apple told AFP that ToTok was removed from its App metadata, only deeper. “Once you know who’s talking to Store pending a review, while Google said it was taken whom, and perhaps even what they are saying, you can down from the Play Store “for a policy issue”. The Times identify specific individuals of interest and target them with reported that ToTok, used by millions in the UAE and the more advanced capabilities,” he said. surrounding region, had been designed to look like an easy According to the Times, the app launched this year was and secure way to send messages and videos in countries developed by Breej Holding, which the newspaper said is where other services are banned. The report said US intel- likely a “front company” affiliated with DarkMatter, an Abu ligence officials and a security researcher determined the Dhabi-based cyber-intelligence and hacking firm. In a blog app was being used by the UAE government for detailed post Monday, ToTok said nothing of the spying allegations surveillance. but noted that the messaging app was “temporarily Security researcher Patrick Wardle, who assisted the unavailable” in the Android and Apple marketplaces “due newspaper, said in a blog post that ToTok appears to be to a technical issue.” part of a “mass surveillance operation” which “likely afford- “While the existing ToTok users continue to enjoy our ed in-depth insight in a large percentage of the country’s service without interruption, we would like to inform our population”. Wardle said the app became popular by offer- new users that we are well engaged with Google and Apple ing free calling and messaging to users where services such to address the issue,” the statement said, while adding that as Skype and WhatsApp are blocked, and that it was also the app is also available from its own website and from promoted by what appear to be fake reviews. marketplaces by smartphone makers Samsung, Huawei, Wardle said ToTok appears to trick users of iPhones Xiaomi and Oppo. — AFP .