CAIRO, April 29 (KUNA) -- Arab youth and sports ministers have named Kuwait as the "Capital of Arab Youth of 2017, announced Kuwait's Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah. In a press conference following the conclusion of the meeting of the Arab Ministers of Youth and Sports Council, held here Wednesday, Sheikh Salman said that the council has also named Manama as the "Capital of Arab Youth of 2015" and Rabat as "the Capital of Arab Youth of 2016". Sheikh Salman, who chaired the meeting, expressed gratitude to Egypt which gave up the title of 2017 to Kuwait. He stated that Kuwait will hold a series of regional and international initiatives and activities to support and help empower Arab youth. The conferees have assigned Kuwait to deliver the speech of the Arab countries in the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting on the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY), to be held in New York on May 29, he disclosed. Sheikh Salman noted that the conferees have agreed on scaling up the implementation of the Arab strategy for caring for youth. He stressed that Arab leaderships are giving due attention to issues of youth who make up nearly 50 percent of the whole Arab population. Furthermore, the Minister said that the conferees have thanked His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Kuwait's hosting of three conferences for humanitarian aid pledging for Syria. They also congratulated His Highness the Amir of the UN honoring and naming of Him as a "Humanitarian Leader" of Kuwait as a "Humanitarian Center". The Arab ministers backed Egypt's call for holding an international conference under the rubric of "Youth against Terrorism". They also expressed support to Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein's nomination for the FIFA presidency, he said. (end) ms.ibi