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Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco) subsidiary Burgan Bank said on 10 January that it had gained approval from Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) to sell its 51.8% stake in Bank of Baghdad to Amman-based Jordan Kuwait Bank (JKB). The value of the transaction was not revealed, but Burgan said it would help it to avoid a rise in its non-performing loans ratio.

Oman's state energy company OQ signed an agreement with Saudi giant Sabic and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) in late December to develop a jointly-owned petrochemicals complex in the special economic zone at Duqm (Sezad).

The United Kingdom government said in December that it was hosting some 21 military personnel from the Gulf for liaison and engagement purposes.

Kuwaiti diplomat Abdullah Abdulsamad Dashti was appointed United Nations Co-ordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The initiative was launched by Ukraine, Turkey, Russia and the UN to enable exports of grain, foodstuffs and fertiliser from Ukraine via a safe maritime corridor.

Kuwait's parliament speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun has adjourned proceedings until 24 January, after two cabinet ministers walked out of the chamber and refused to return. The walkout came after MPs pushed to hold a debate on a draft law which would require the government to repay bank loans owed by citizens.

Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah returned to Kuwait late December from his latest trip to Italy for medical treatment. It was his fourth trip to Italy in 2022.

Kuwait’s National Assembly (parliament) agreed on 14 December to look into alleged graft in two controversial defence contracts: a $9bn deal with Leonardo in 2016 to supply 28 Eurofighter Typhoons and a deal to buy 30 Caracal helicopters from Airbus.

Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah went back to Italy on 12 December, for what was officially termed a “private visit”. It comes just over seven weeks after the emir returned from his last trip to Italy for medical tests and was the fourth time he had travelled to the country in 2022.

The Kuwaiti government survived its first parliamentary grilling since the 29 September general election, when public works minister Amani Bugammaz was quizzed by member of parliament (MP) Hamdan Al-Azmi on 29 November over alleged conflicts of interest, wasting public money and giving false information to parliament.

The High Court of Bombay rejected an interim application by Kuwaiti Sheikha Fadiah Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah to evict three Mumbai businessmen from a property in the Indian city in November. The case dates back to 2013, when the Kuwaiti royal family sought to force the men from the Al-Sabah Court apartment block on Marine Drive in the Mumbai and pay compensation.

Recently-appointed Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) chief executive Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah has reshuffled the senior management of the state-owned group’s main subsidiaries, in the latest sign of change in the country’s energy sector.

Kuwait executed seven people at the Central Prison on the morning of 16 November, including four locals and citizens of Ethiopia, Pakistan and Syria. The Public Prosecution said their various crimes included murder, kidnapping, possession of unlicensed firearms and adultery. It was the largest number of executions since 2017.

Kuwait’s Sheikha Majda Jaber Hamoud Al-Sabah has launched a non-profit organisation to tackle mental health issues. Majda said she was motivated to start the Houna Initiative after suffering an episode of severe depression several years ago

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah arrived back in Kuwait, after his latest visit to Italy for medical checks. He has made at least two other trips to Italy this year, but until now officials had only described them as “private visits”

The United States has approved a deal to sell a $3bn air defence system to Kuwait.