Charts & Numbers

Information in a 2009 - 2014 policy strategy plan formulated by Kuwait’s planning council has been made public. The policy strategy is not strictly adhered to, nor is it marketed to the public, rather it is just a report amid many reports circulated by the government.

 Here are a few of the plans:

• Boost non-oil economy (at less than 10% of revenue)
• Increase foriegn investment (become a financial hub)
• Sell land/Ease ownership rules (in preparation of post-oil era)
• Continue privatizations (eg. selling of Kuwait Airways Corp.)

Kuwaiti citizens are fully dependent on the government. Citizens are supported by the government from the cradle-to-grave. In the policy strategy plan the government is urged to “rationalize” spending in order to decrease the dependence of the citizens on oil revenues.

The strategy plan, which is to be discussed with the private sector, will propose plans for every sector. The plan also calls for large infrastructure projects involving the following:

• Airport
• Roads
• Phone lines
• Power plants
• State heath system

Many of the proposed plans in ‘the policy’ have already been enacted by Gulf Arab countries. The plans seem to emulate the success of Bahrain and Dubai. Kuwait’s neighbors have already become regional financial centers and popular tourist destinations. Although the Gulf countries are still in the early stages towards a dependence from oil.

Some of the most important aspects of any strategy are first to dictate a detailed time frame and second to have a concrete action plan, both of which are lacking in the policy strategy.