KUWAIT, Dec 27 (KUNA) -- In 2022, Kuwait witnessed many major developments and events in the fields of defense, security and social affairs.
The following is a list of such major events and activities:
Defense, interior and homeland security:
Jan 14: A security force from the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry arrived in Saudi Arabia to take part in the "Arab Gulf Security 3" exercise.
Jan 17: The Interior Ministry said that the Coast Guard will conduct a shootng drill using live ammunition in the country's territorial waters near Boubyan and Failaka Islands.
Jan 17: Kuwait Interior Ministry announced that the Criminal Security Sector personnel arrested an Arab resident in possession of 22 kilograms of narcotics, valued more than 250,000 Kuwaiti dinars (USD 825,000).
Feb 4: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah mourned the death of first Lieutenant Mohammad Mazyad Al-Azmi.
Feb 14: Kuwait's naval forces carried out live-fire exercises over two days in the southeast of Boubyan Island and northeast of Failaka Island.
Feb 24: Ministry of Interior announced the opening of borders for travelers for 24 hours.
March 7: The military exercises (Eagle Resolve 2022) were launched at the (Fort Carson) base in the US state of Colorado, under the guidance of Kuwait Army, with participation of GCC States, US and friendly countries, and continued for 14 days.
March 23: Kuwait Fire Force (KFF) said firefighters extinguished a fire, which broke out at the new airport Terminal 2 (T2) construction site. The fire caused material damages only with no casualties reported.
March 31: KFF declared that a huge fire that erupted at Al-Mubarakiya popular market gutted scores of adjacent stores. Up to eight squads battled the blazes amid heavy smoke from 20 scorching stores.
April 1: A huge blaze occurred in a 5,000 square meters junkyard on Al-Salmi road, KFF responded to the fire and no personnel were injured during the operations.
May 14: The Interior Ministry busted three individuals attempting to smuggle 600 kilograms of marijuana and 130 kilograms of other narcotics.
May 29: The Kuwaiti army, represented by the Amiri guard, took part in a military exercise held in Jordan.
May 30: A huge blaze occurred in a 4,000 square meters space in in Al-Rai area with five teams from KFF responding to the fire, which only caused property damage.
May 31: Seven firefighting teams extinguished a fire at in Al-Sulaibiya agricultural area.
June 4: The Interior Ministry confiscated three containers containing five million hallucinogen pills worth KD eight million (around USD 26.4 million). The containers was at Shuwaikh seaport and it come an Asian country.
June 7: Kuwait Interior Ministry's shooting team won the second GCC tournament held at the police shooting sports federation in Kuwait.
June 9: A blaze occurred at food storage facility at 1,000 square meters warehouse in Al-Ardiya industrial area. Four fire teams managed to put out the fire with no human casualties reported.
July 1: Blaze erupted in warehouse at the 500-square meters scrapyard in Mina Abdullah with five firefighters injured during operations.
July 19: Blaze erupted at tent market in Al-Arai area with damages sustained only to property.
Aug 28: Blaze erupted at tent market in Al-Arai area with six firefighting teams arriving and containing the fire.
Aug 29: The election affairs committee department at the Interior Ministry received those eager to run for the 2022 National Assembly election. The process was extended for a period of 10 days.
Aug 29: Kuwaiti, Iraqi, and US marine forces conducted a joint exercise in north of the Gulf waters.
Sept 17: The Interior Ministry confiscated one million (Captagon) pills before being smuggled into Kuwait, in cooperation and coordination with the Lebanese interior ministry.
Sept 18: The Interior Ministry confiscated (Captagon) pills worth KD three million before being smuggled into Kuwait, in cooperation and coordination with the Lebanese interior ministry. Two smugglers were arrested during operations.
Sept 19: The Interior Ministry foiled the smuggling of three containers filled with 18,000 bottles of spirits. Six individuals were arrested in relation to the act.
Sept 28: The Kuwaiti army command announced the arrival of the third batch of the Eurofighter aircraft, a step to bolster the air force capabilities of the army.
Oct 2: The Kuwait General Administration of Customs confiscated a million narcotics pills and 7,474 bottles of spirits in a container originating from an Asian country.
Oct 9: The Interior Ministry foiled an attempt to smuggle 131 kilos of Hash into Kuwait via sea.
Oct 13: The Interior Ministry arrested a drug gang attempting to sell 40 kilos of Hashish, 150,000 Captagon pills, and firearms.
Oct 24: The Interior Ministry confiscated one million narcotic pills, four kilos of illicit substances, and 386 bottles of liquor
Oct 27: A blaze erupted at Al-Rrai area, leading to the injury of two firefighters. The Kuwait Fire Force (KFF) teams managed to put out the blaze.
Oct 28: The Interior Ministry arrested three individuals trying to smuggle 174 kilos of Hashish through the Bay of Kuwait.
Oct 30: The Interior Ministry busted a narcotics factory, arresting an individual who had illicit substances in his possession.
Nov 8: The Interior Ministry confiscated 10 million narcotic pills originating from China.
Nov 11: A delegation from KFF headed to Qatar to partake in security measures the 2022 World Cup.
Nov 11: Kuwait Customs confiscated a caravan filled with 1,780 firearms and explosives.
Nov 21: Kuwait air force and the British Royal air force's "Red Arrows" perform show in Kuwait.
Nov 28: The Kuwaiti Army, the Kuwait National Guards (KNG), and the French military carry out an exercise.
Dec 9: The Interior Ministry confiscated 335 kilos of Hashish and one million Captagon pills.
Social affairs and services (transport and communication):
Feb 16: The GCC's Committee of Air Transport, selected the Kuwait's Abdullah Al-Rajhi, as its chairman for the next three years.
Feb 18: The Ministry of Communication issued post stamps commemorating Kuwait's national days, marking the 61st Anniversary of National Day, and 31st Anniversary of Liberation Day.
Feb 21: Kuwait Airways signed a USD six billion deal with Airbus to extend its fleet to 31 planes.
April 18: UNICEF and the Kuwaiti digital platform "VOO" signed a cooperation memorandum.
April 18: United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) and Kuwait's Al-Nouri charitable foundation signed a USD 400,000 deal to aid Syrian refugees in Jordan.
April 18: The Kuwaiti-based International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) and UNICEF signed a general cooperation memorandum.
May 8: Kuwait hosted the Arab scouts gathering in cooperation with the Kuwaiti-based Arab Planning Institute and the participation of 170 figures including honorary head of the Arab scouting federation, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim.
May 16: A team from the Public Authority for Youth (PAY) won first place in a competition at the Arab Artificial Intelligence (AI) Olympics held in Jordan. The Kuwaiti team submitted a moon smart colony project.
May 21: Voting process began for the 2022 Municipal Council Elections.
May 26: Kuwait and Qatar Airways signed an agreement to transport fans attending the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar.
May 30: The Ministry of Communication and Nokia Solutions and Networks signed an agreement to replace old fiber optics in several areas of Kuwait, replacing them with a brand new network.
May 31: Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gained the ISO 9001 certificate for aviation data monitoring division, at the air navigation sector affiliated to DGCA.
May 31: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Development formed a team to support Kuwait's food security apparatus.
June 1: The International Telecommunication Union awarded in a ceremony in Geneva the Kuwaiti project (Social Watcher) a certificate of excellence for using technology in media.
June 14: Kuwait's DGCA, and the UK signed an memorandum updating air-cargo procedures.
June 20: Kuwait Meteorological Center and United Nations Human Settlement Program (UN-Habitat) signed a cooperation memorandum to achieve the agenda of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).
July 6: Kuwait Airways and Sri Lankan Airlines signed an agreement to open the Kuwait-Colombo destination to reinforce commercial exchange.
Aug 18: The Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) the (ISO/ IEC 27001:2013) certificate for information security management.
Oct 5: The Kuwait Directorate of Civil Aviation and the Maldives signed a MoU to improve the flexibility of air cargo services.
Oct 5: Kuwait won a seat on the board of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) during elections held in Bucharest, Romania.
Oct 25: Kuwait International airport achieved a milestone in international safety standards in 2022 with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) allocating a ranking of 77.45 percent.
Oct 27: Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA) signed a KD-48.75-million (Around USD 157.6 million) deal to develop the docks at Shuwaikh port.
Oct 30: The Kuwait Directorate of Civil Aviation and Sudan signed a MoU.
Nov 8: The Kuwait Directorate of Civil Aviation and Montenegro signed a MoU.
Dec 11: The Kuwaiti Union of Women's Associations signed a MoU with the Geneva human rights institute in Switzerland to protect women's rights according to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) 2030. The two sides also agreed to exchange expertize and bolster cooperation. (end) kt