(Adds background on Kuwait weapons purchases)

KUWAIT, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The Kuwaiti government asked parliament to approve a supplementary budget of 6.2 billion dinars ($20.4 billion) to fund weapons purchases for the military over 10 years, al-Rai newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah al-Sabah, minister of state for cabinet affairs, confirmed on the sidelines of a conference that the government sent a request for a special budget, but declined to specify the amount requested.

Al-Rai said the government asked that the money be drawn from the country's general reserves.

Kuwait and its Gulf Arab neighbours together make up one of the world's largest arms markets, buying billions of dollars of military equipment from the United States and Europe.

In September it signed a memorandum of understanding to buy 28 Eurofighter jets, a deal worth up to 8 billion euros ($9 billion).

It is also negotiating with the U.S. government to buy 28 Boeing F/A-18E/F fighter jets this year, though the $3 billion deal has been held up by delays in the U.S. regulatory process.

($1 = 0.3037 Kuwaiti dinars)

(Reporting by Ahmed Hegagy, Writing by Katie Paul; Editing by Dominic Evans) ((Katie.Paul@thomsonreuters.com;))

Keywords: KUWAIT BUDGET/ARMS