Manama: Kuwait’s emir underlined “absolute belief” in the Kuwaiti judicial system and its “acclaimed trust, impartiality and integrity” in a televised speech to mark the last ten days of Ramadan.

Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah said that certain crucial issues that have come up in recent weeks are under the consideration of the judiciary.

Kuwait has been embroiled in a scandal after a tape was leaked allegedly containing a conversation by a senior ruling family member said to be plotting a coup. Those allegations were made in a lawsuit filed last month by Shaikh Ahmad Fahd Al Sabah, a senior ruling family member and former energy minister. Shaikh Ahmad was himself questioned as a witness in the case.

Shaikh Sabah also urged the international community to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza, condemning the “continued brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, leading to the fall of victims and casualties among our Palestinian brothers.”

Shaikh Sabah said it was deplorable that the Israeli aggression continued while the UN Security Council (UNSC) failed to take action. “This prompts the international community as a whole to shoulder its responsibility to stop the blatant Israeli aggression and end the sufferings of the brotherly Palestinian people in Gaza, offering support and human aid to our stricken people there,” Shaikh Sabah was quoted as saying by Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) late on Sunday.

Shaikh Sabah said that Ramadan offered a great chance to get closer to God and said he could only be thankful that his people and country had been abundantly blessed.

Shaikh Sabah urged Kuwaitis to work harder to protect their country, adhering to “our democratic path, a source of satisfaction, and our constitution, a source of pride.”

“Our country is facing challenges to move forward with our present and build our future. The only way to achieve results is through uniting all national efforts and forces, cooperating within sincere and serious work to meet the expectations and ambitions of all Kuwaiti people.”

Shaikh Sabah added that he has stressed on many occasions that Kuwait’s youth were the country’s real wealth since they would build the future of the nation, Kuna reported.

Referring to the first youth conference held in Kuwait last year, Shaikh Sabah said that he has instructed the government to study the recommendations of the national committee and speed up efforts to implement them so as to enable Kuwait’s young people to develop their potential and skills and deal with their own issues.

Some of these recommendations have already been implemented with the setting up of a ministry for youth affairs and the setting up a fund for developing small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) with a capital of 2 billion Kuwaiti dinars (Dh25.91 billion) being among the top proposals.

Shaikh Sabah added: “The coming days will see more decisions and initiatives to support the Kuwaiti youth and enable them to contribute to shouldering responsibilities, playing a role in the building and development of the country.”