Opec-member Kuwait appointed former communications minister Mohammad al-Busairi as oil minister in a new cabinet, the state news agency Kuna said on Sunday.

Changes in senior personnel at the oil ministry usually do not affect Kuwait's energy policy, which is set by a top state body.

Mustapha al-Shamali was re-appointed as finance minister, Kuna said in a text message.

Amani Bouresli, the only female in the new cabinet, was named as minister of trade and industry. She is one of six new faces in the formation.

The previous cabinet quit in March to avoid questioning by parliament of three ministers, all members of ruling al-Sabah family, amid calls for political and economic reform.

Last month, Kuwait's emir asked his nephew, the outgoing Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah to form a new government. This is Sheikh Nasser's seventh government, since he was appointed as prime minister in 2006.

Lawmakers had asked to question the ministers in the latest of a series of challenges by an unusually assertive Arab parliament that have delayed important economic reforms.

Kuwait's parliament has triggered numerous cabinet resignations or reshuffles through questioning.-Reuters