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SAFAR 15,1440 AH WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018 34º 28 Pages Max 150 Fils Established 1961 Min 22 ISSUE NO: 17665 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net India court eases firecracker World’s oldest intact shipwreck Cryptocurrency bitcoin marks Bayern edge out AEK 9 ban even as pollution soars 19 found in waters of Black Sea 24 10 years since its inception 28 to move top of group Saudi Arabia signs deals worth $50bn at investment conference King, MBS meet Khashoggi son • Kuwait sends top officials • Riyadh pledges $3bn to Pak RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince potentials for exporting non-petroleum hailed yesterday a conference that has products, he argued. drawn investment deals worth $50 billion “For these reasons, we believe that despite a boycott over the killing of jour- Kuwait’s considerable contribution was nalist Jamal Khashoggi, declaring the important to get acquainted with the event as “great - more people more mon- great and promising investment opportu- ey”. This year’s Future Investment nities and to benefit from the regional and Initiative was overshadowed by the death international experiences for the future of of the Saudi journalist, a critic of Crown investment,” he said. Kuwait’s official del- Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who van- egation to the event comprises Hajraf, ished after he entered the country’s con- Commerce and Industry Ministry Khaled sulate in Istanbul on Oct 2. Yesterday, the Al-Roudhan, Governor of the Central Saudi cabinet, after a meeting headed by Bank Mohammad Al-Hashel and King Salman, promised to hold to account Managing Director of Kuwait Investment those who were responsible for Authority Farouq Bastaki. Khashoggi’s death and those who “failed The event is being held at the opulent in their duties” in the case that has pro- Ritz-Carlton, where scores of princes, voked an international furor and strained businessmen and officials were detained ties between Riyadh and the West. in a crackdown on corruption soon after Prince Mohammed, known as MBS, last year’s conference ended. Saudi bil- arrived at the conference late in the day lionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who RIYADH: (From left) Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Saudi King Salman, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin after attending a meeting at which the was among those detained, appeared at Rashed Al-Maktoum and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meet on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative FII conference in king received members of Khashoggi’s the forum beside MBS, who led the anti- the Saudi capital yesterday. — AFP photos family, including his son Salah and brother corruption drive. Sahel. Many in the audience of over Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih 2,000 clapped or cheered as the prince, assured the conference that the world’s the kingdom’s architect of its reform top crude exporter was passing through a drive, entered the main hall, smiling as he “crisis of a sort” but would power ahead sat down. The crown prince, who praised with economic reforms. The chief execu- the conference in comments to reporters tive of Saudi Aramco said the government as he toured the venue and took selfies, remained committed to a partial flotation will participate in a panel today. of the oil giant but that the timing would Kuwait’s participation in the confer- depend on market conditions and other ence was a chance to get updated about factors. Falih said the murder of future of regional and global investments, Khashoggi was regrettable, adding that Finance Minister Nayef Al-Hajraf said. “nobody in the kingdom can justify it”. The large presence of Kuwaiti public and Falih said the OPEC kingpin was ready private institutions shows keenness on to boost its crude production and spare making the best use of this event, the capacity to help maintain a balance in the largest of its kind in the Arab world, Hajraf global oil market. He also said OPEC and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed poses for a selfie with an unidentified said in a statement. The Saudi economy non-OPEC producers are expected to man near Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal (right) during the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets Salah, son of slain has solid and strong foundations thanks sign in December an “open-ended” conference yesterday. journalist Jamal Khashoggi, yesterday. to its huge local market and enormous Continued on Page 24 Soleimani, Abdollahi and Shahlai were linked to a plot established in May 2017 during US President Donald Saudi, Bahrain add to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s former ambassador to the Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and the United States, Adel Al-Jubeir, and imposed sanctions on United States co-chair the group and Bahrain, Kuwait, them. Iran at the time dismissed the accusations as false Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are also MPs: Citizenship Iran Revolutionary and demanded an apology from Washington. The office members. of the Revolutionary Guards and Iran’s Foreign Ministry The Trump administration aims to create a security issue must end Guards to terror list were not immediately available for comment yesterday. and political alliance with the Gulf Arab states to The Quds Force is the branch of the Revolutionary counter Iran’s influence in the region, especially in Syria By B Izzak DUBAI: Saudi Arabia said yesterday that it and Guards that operates abroad. and Iraq. Trump withdrew in May from a nuclear deal Bahrain had added Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps In Washington yesterday, the US Treasury targeted with Iran that lifted most international sanctions on KUWAIT: Several lawmakers yesterday gave a and senior officers from its Quds Force to their lists of Afghanistan’s Taleban insurgency with sanctions Tehran in exchange for curbs on its atomic program. cautious welcome to the government’s decision to people and organizations suspected of involvement in against eight individuals who were designated global Trump said the deal did not address Iran’s ballistic mis- return citizenships to some citizens whose nationali- terrorism. The Saudi state news agency SPA quoted a terrorists, including two linked to the Quds Force sile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 or its ties were revoked several years ago, and called for statement from the security services as saying Qassem named as Mohammad Ebrahim Owhadi and Esma’il role in regional conflicts. Saudi Arabia welcomed putting an end to this issue. The government on Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, and the Razavi. The Taleban-related sanctions were also Trump’s decision and said it would work with the Monday returned revoked citizenships to nine peo- force’s Hamed Abdollahi and Abdul Reza Shahlai had imposed by the seven members of the Terrorist United States to address Iran’s support of militant ple including cleric Nabil Al-Awadhi, but not oppo- been included on the list. Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), a US-Gulf initiative groups in the region and its ballistic missile program sition activist Saad Al-Ajmi, who denied that his citi- The US Treasury Department alleged in 2011 that to stem finance to militant groups. The center was that is run by the Revolutionary Guards. — Reuters zenship was returned. The government has already returned several citizenships revoked from mostly opposition activists. Several others are still waiting. MP Abdulwahab Al-Babtain described the meas- Erdogan calls ure as a step in the right direction but called for Xi inaugurates swiftly putting an end to this issue and to political for justice over tensions in the country, adding that regional turmoil HK-mainland requires unity in the country. Babtain also said that Khashoggi murder to achieve stability, there must be solid legislation longest bridge that cannot be misused by the government to issue ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unilateral decisions that could destabilize the coun- ZHUHAI, China: China’s President Xi Jinping offi- yesterday said that the “savage murder” of journalist try. He said that the amendment of the administrative cially opened the world’s longest sea bridge con- Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul was court law, which is against the constitution, has necting Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China yes- meticulously planned, demanding that all those linked become a national duty that all parties must work to terday, at a time when Beijing is tightening its grip on to the killing face punishment. Erdogan had promised achieve. He was referring to a law that prevents its semi-autonomous territories. The 55-km crossing, that his speech in Ankara would give the “naked truth” courts from looking into citizenship cases because which includes a snaking road bridge and underwa- about the killing and he gave a host of new details. But they are considered sovereign issues. ter tunnel, links Hong Kong with the southern main- he still acknowledged Turkey wanted answers to key MP Hamdan Al-Azemi said the return of citizen- land city of Zhuhai and the gambling enclave of questions, including who gave the orders. ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ships should be treated on the basis that the gov- Macau, across the waters of the Pearl River Estuary. Vice President Mike Pence vowed that the United waves during his party’s parliamentary group meeting ernment committed a mistake in the past and it Continued on Page 24 States would “demand answers” from Riyadh. Erdogan at the Grand National Assembly yesterday. —AFP was trying to rectify it. The lawmaker said the outlined the steps taken by what he said was a 15 per- measure should not dissuade MPs from grilling the son team who came from Riyadh planning to kill that several questions remain unanswered.