His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, on Wednesday, patronized and attended Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) awards ceremony for 2013.
The ceremony, held at Bayan Palace, got started shortly after His Highness the Amir's arrival at the venue where he was welcomed by KFAS Director General Dr. Adnan Shehabeddine and board members.
It was attended by His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem, former speaker of the National Assembly Jassem Al-Kharafi, senior sheikhs, His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah and senior State officials.
The ceremony began with the National Anthem, Koranic verses, a documentary display about the foundation and an address by Dr. Shehabeddine.
His Highness the Amir was awarded a memorial gift for his UN's acclamation as "humanitarian leader."

Dr. Shehabeddine noted in his statement that the KFAS ceremony coincided with the UN recent designation of His Highness the Amir as "humanitarian leader," in addition to naming Kuwait as a "humanitarian center," a move that signaled international recognition of Kuwait's generous aid for nations in need for help. He also extended congratulations to His Highness the Amir for the unprecedented international honoring of him and the homeland.
The honoring of His Highness the Amir came amid bleak conditions engulfing the region, and in gratitude for Kuwait's humanitarian policies.
He congratulated winners of the KFAS awards in 2013, and recalled birth of the foundation, which he was due to intersection of the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah's outlook with an initiative in this respect by the private sector, at the time, noting the continuing support by His Highness the Amir, also the KFAS board chairman, and the funding from shareholding companies, at a rate of one percent of its annual net profits.
KFAS, now in the third year of its five-year development plan, has worked out a governance reference encompassing all its tasks, namely planning, supervision and assessment. Moreover, it has begun regular assessment of the external centers by credible international houses.
Noting the foundation's diverse scientific and research programs, Dr. Shehabeddine also noted its alternative and green energy programs, namely solar energy, with aim of taking off some of the burden on the electrical system and networks and for sake of preserving the oil wealth, in implementation of His Highness the Amir's instructions in this respect.
Elaborating, he noted His Highness the Amir's initiative, specializing the annual USD one million "Abdulrahman Al-Sumait award," to support researches, development ventures, namely in the health, food and teaching sectors in Africa, "which we hope will constitute motive for global efforts currently being exerted to counter the peril of Ebola, threatening Africa and the whole world." Dr. Shehabeddine cited a saying by His Highness stressing that science and knowledge constitute the bases for "making good citizens." Speaking on behalf of the winners, Dr. Habib Emari expressed deep gratitude for His Highness' care for the foundation and the scientists. He also congratulated Sheikh Sabah on the UN designation.