Kuwait accounts for approximately 6.1% of the world’s proven oil reserves, with hydrocarbons revenues comprising more than 65% of the country’s GDP and 95% of total exports in 2013. Cautious budgetary decisions have resulted in large surpluses, creating a solid base for public expenditure programmes such as the National Development Plan, which is set to diversify the economy and boost employment. Although tapering the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing programme is likely to affect global liquidity and play a key part in growth prospects for 2014/15, the GCC economy is still forecast to expand by 4.1% for the year, and in Kuwait, where a handful of new PPP plans and deals are slated for 2014, there are promising signs that the year could be a landmark for economic growth and expansion.

Kuwait is one of the biggest players in the global energy market, with its proven oil reserves currently the sixth largest in the world. Although revenues from hydrocarbons account for more than 60% of GDP and 95% of exports, the country’s low production costs and sizeable fiscal reserves mean it is well positioned to cope with lower oil prices in the short term. This is clear from the government’s ongoing commitment to delivering projects outlined in the national development strategy, Kuwait Vision 2035. In the financial services sector, Kuwait continues to perform well, as a series of regulations put in place by the Central Bank of Kuwait in recent years have served to shore up the sector’s recovery from the global economic downturn.

Home to the largest per capita reserves and fourth-largest total reserves of crude oil within OPEC, Kuwait’s public finances have suffered in 2016 following the rapid decline in oil prices, which drove oil revenues down from $108.6bn in 2013 to $51.8bn in 2015. Despite this Kuwait has resisted significant budgetary cutbacks: spending levels in 2016 were cut by just 1.6%, and the considerable financial buffers built up from budget surpluses in the years leading up to 2014 are expected to cushion the budget deficit. The country continues to push ahead with key public investments, with Parliament allocating $155bn to the Kuwait Development Plan 2015-20 to fund infrastructure, utilities and housing developments. The plan focuses on further integrating the private sector into areas of the economy traditionally under state control and aims to raise the non-oil sector’s GDP contribution to 64% in 2015-20, up from an average of 45.1% in 2010-13. Elsewhere promising moves are being made to cut state subsidies, with the government opting to liberalise diesel and kerosene prices and reduce subsidies on aviation fuel in January 2015, generating savings equal to 0.3% of GDP.

Kuwait Immigration Policy, Laws and Regulations Handbook Volume 1 Strategic Information and Regulations

Kuwait Constitution and Citizenship Laws and Regulations Handbook Volume 1 Strategic Information and Basic Laws

This book asks why in recent years the social and economic upheavals in Kuwait and Qatar have been accompanied by a remarkable political continuity.

This Selected Issues paper analyzes energy price reform in Kuwait. It emphasizes that Kuwait should take advantage of current low global energy prices to strengthen efforts to reform domestic energy prices. In the longer term, this would benefit growth by increasing efficiency in the economy and creating space for higher public and private investment. In the short-term, one-off effects on inflation should be manageable. Productive activities more sensitive to energy costs, particularly the transport sector, would be able to adjust to higher energy prices more easily if the reform is gradual.

This book offers an understanding of the current state of public management in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, highlighting the region's institutional and human capital constraints. Drawing on case studies from GCC states and beyond, the book provides a policy-oriented analysis of these challenges and a set of recommendations on how to address them. Public Management Reform in the Gulf Cooperation Council and Beyond utilizes several theoretical frameworks to explore three themes: first, how the quality of government and efficiency of its bureaucratic machinery can offer a business-friendly environment for the private sector; second, how public-private partnerships can foster stronger collaboration and exchange of knowledge and expertise between the public and private sectors; and finally, how the existing human capital constraints may be addressed through the effective implementation of talent management, knowledge management, and training programs. A comparative approach is taken throughout the book, contrasting the performance of GCC states with other Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries in key governance, public sector performance, and business competitiveness indicators to identify what the GCC states need to do to enhance the quality of government and the capacity to deliver services more efficiently. This book will appeal to academics, practitioners, policymakers and private sector consultants, as well as those interested more broadly in the Middle East and the Gulf region.

Over the past decade the European Union (EU) has gradually developed the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) with its neighbours. At the same time, the ‘neighbours of the EU’s neighbours’ have presented new challenges. This book addresses the EU’s broader neighbourhood, comprising of the ENP countries and the neighbours of its neighbours. With specific focus on Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, it discusses trans-regional policy issues that arise from the EU’s relations with regions beyond the ENP. Based on an interdisciplinary, policy-oriented approach, this volume explores major political, legal, security and socio-economic challenges and identifies opportunities for cooperation across the EU’s broader neighbourhood. This book will be of interest to students, experts and scholars interested in EU affairs and politics, international relations, EU and international law, diplomacy and area studies.

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