Economy

Kuwait’s security is an integral part of the security system of the GCC, and any threat targeting the security of one of the GCC countries will be treated as a threat to the security of Kuwait and to the rest of the GCC countries. We reject threats and cooperate to defeat them. This was reflected in practice when Kuwait suffered brutal...

With strong foreign reserves, a rapidly improving investment framework and a major state-led development programme under way, Kuwait is well positioned to attract growing levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade in the coming years. While the government has cut back on current spending recently, capital expenditure has continued...

A combination of factors has led to a rise in bond issuances from GCC member states across the first half of 2016. Over the period, bonds and sukuk (Islamic bonds) issued in the GCC hit $39bn, accounting for 15% of the region’s total outstanding bonds ($263bn) as of June 2016, and nearly equalling the value of issues in the whole...

In January 2016 Kuwait announced plans to create a new fund to manage its domestic assets, signalling a key step forward in the push to privatise state-owned assets. While the state has experimented with privatisation in the past, the climate of significantly reduced oil prices, which reached a 12-year low in January 2016, has added a greater...

One of the most important issues currently facing the Middle East is the changing composition of its demography. A massive cohort of young people – known as a youth bulge – is challenging policy makers, with youth policy affecting security, education, the labour market and welfare programmes, among other areas. Given the relative stability and...