KUWAIT

RB: Emir Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah has ruled Kuwait since 2020, when he succeeded widely respected statesman Sabah al-Ahmad. Younger generations of the royal family will seek influential positions as they have been left out of the line of succession. Their power will be checked by the Kuwaiti national assembly, which is by and large the region’s most powerful parliamentary body given its veto right on legislation and the right to take away confidence from individual ministers.

However, the power struggle between Kuwait’s executive and legislative branches is a source of instability that weighs on the investment environment and the reform process. The government will hence remain vulnerable to interpellations by parliament, leading to paralysis, but not significant policy changes. Nonetheless, continuous cabinet reshuffles do not threaten the political stability of the country. Indeed, Kuwait benefits from the existence of a more independent legislative compared with its neighbours in the region. However, it will continue to delay important legislation, such as the passage of the debt law, and slow the development of the private sector and the ‘kuwaitization’ of its workforce, which would facilitate the reduction of the governmental sector staff that employs 80% of Kuwaiti nationals.

JM: Kuwait has been making efforts to diversify its export economy, but it still heavily relies on the mineral fuel industry. In 2022, its top export category was mineral fuels, which generated $83.8 billion in revenue, with China, South Korea, India, Japan, and Taiwan being the top customers.

Kuwait also exported $2.1 billion worth of organic chemicals, mostly to India, China, and Turkey. Despite running a significant trade surplus, Kuwait still imports a variety of goods from around the world, including cars and trucks from the US, iron and steel from Qatar, and rubber from Japan.

In 2022, Kuwait’s total exports increased to $89 billion from $56.5 billion, with top export markets located in Asia, specifically China, India, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Meanwhile, imports rose to $30.9 billion from $27.6 billion, with China, the US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Japan being the main sources.