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Kuwait Launches “New Kuwait 2035” | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A Kuwaiti woman casts her vote during parliamentary election in a polling station in Kuwait City, Kuwait November 26, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES


Kuwait- Kuwait has launched on Monday “New Kuwait 2035”: a development plan that represents the state’s promising economic future by 2035, a plan that aims at transforming Kuwait to a financial and commercial center that attracts investments.

This vision aims at making Kuwait an attractive investment center where the private sector leads the economic activities, encourages competition and increases production efficiency amidst a supportive organizational system.

This initiative comes months after launching a similar Saudi initiative holding the name Saudi Vision 2030 to free the kingdom’s economy from dependency on oil.

The Kuwaiti government launched 12 years ago a vision to transform Kuwait into a commercial and financial hub in the region but observers say that not much has been achieved.

Kuwait, a member of OPEC, suffers from reliance depending on oil that makes up to 90% of the state’s revenues. During the past years, Kuwait witnessed a drop of oil prices leading to a deficit in the budget for the first time since 15 years.

This drop in prices pushed the government to launch a program for economic reforms that is still subject to discussions at the government.

Last year, the government signed a deal for building a new international airport with doubled capacity compared to the current one.