KUWAIT IS EXPECTED TO GROW AT A RATE OF 5.3%, ACCORDING TO THE WORLD BANK

  • 18/02/2022

Kuwait City: Kuwait's GDP is expected to rise by 5.3 percent this year, then decrease to 3 percent in 2023 after shrinking by 8.9 percent in 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Bank. Issam Abu Sulaiman, visiting World Bank regional director for Gulf Arab states, told a press conference that the adoption of economic changes in Kuwait is suitable at this moment after the country's "bumper financial year."He said the event should serve as a "signal" to set in motion reforms that would put Kuwait's finances and economy on a more sustainable footing, as well as diversifying sources of economic growth and luring foreign investment into the country, just weeks after Fitch downgraded Kuwait's credit rating. 


The recent surge in oil prices, according to the World Bank official, should allow Kuwait's private sector to play a more active role in economic growth, while higher oil prices will almost always result in a budget surplus, he added. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenge provided by excessive inflation, he said, are the two largest risks to Kuwait's economy, both of which might lead global oil demand to reverse course. He also said that creating human capital is the essential engine of long-term economic success.

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