Kuwait denies buying French arms

Kuwaiti Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense Salem Al Sabah refuted news that a Kuwaiti military delegation that recently visited France held any negotiations to sign a new arms deal with France.

He stated that this visit came within the security agreement Kuwait signed with the Security Council's permanent members, among which is France. He also stated that the agreement's articles stipulated exchanging visits between the countries twice a year.

Some reports said that the Kuwaiti military delegation had visited France to buy French arms.

In other news, After a meeting with the committee responsible for studying the government's plan for 1998, Sabah informed journalists that the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense intends to raise the salaries of military personnel as a step toward attracting more civilians to work in the army. He stated that this approach reflects Kuwaiti priorities and said that increasing the salaries might not require legislation.