Kuwait – Fitch Ratings has provided a negative outlook for Kuwait's Vision 2035, launched in 2016, in contrast to the plans of the remaining five Gulf countries, which rated them either positively or somewhat positively, neutral or somewhat negative.

Kuwait will lag behind in its economic diversification strategies and plans, as the country's difficult political environment has delayed progress on its own economic diversification plans.

Kuwait's vision aims primarily to transform the country into an attractive financial and commercial center for investment, in which the private sector leads economic activity, encourages the spirit of competition, raises production efficiency under a supportive institutional state apparatus, consolidates values, preserves social identity, achieves human development and balanced development, and provides appropriate infrastructure, advanced legislation and an encouraging business environment.

To what extent has the difficult political environment affected the implementation of this vision?

Riyadh Al-Faras, a professor of economics at Kuwait University, explains that the political situation in Kuwait is not easy, because the Kuwaiti constitution gave great strength to the National Assembly in terms of approving laws, and "what we have witnessed in the past decades indicates that the political arena is hot as a result of tensions between the government and the National Assembly, which derives its strength from the articles of the constitution in approving laws and development plans."

Al-Faras adds that due to the status of the Council and the absence of political parties, the situation in Kuwait is difficult, because MPs have different orientations, unlike countries that adopt the list system, and these tensions and lack of cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities - Al-Faras continues - left their negative impact on the delay in approving new laws or amending old laws, especially the Third Development Plan Law, which was supposed to come into effect on the first of April 2020 with the start of the state's fiscal year, but it has not been approved to date, and this It explains the suspension of many projects and laws, according to the Persians.

According to specialists, the difficult political environment in Kuwait could affect economic plans (Reuters)

What is hindering attracting foreign investment in Kuwait?

Al-Faras points out that Kuwait, among the Gulf countries, did not look at the foreign direct investment system as a basic thing and an auxiliary element in achieving economic development, because the conviction was that Kuwait is a rich country exporting capital and will not need capital, and this is wrong because all countries of the world need direct investment, and other Gulf countries have benefited from this, unlike Kuwait.

Because the political crisis exists, investors view this situation with concern and this gives a negative reflection, as Kuwait is one of the least attractive countries for investment, according to academic Al-Faras.

Al-Faras adds in his speech to "Al Jazeera Net", that the political attraction, made the future outlook, negative for the vision of Kuwait 2035, which set its first lines in 2007, and confirmed through the vision of "New Kuwait" in 2016, because it has not been activated so far despite the passage of a large time, and there is no implementation on the ground, due to the existence of successive resignations of Kuwaiti governments and sometimes the age of the government did not exceed one year, in addition to the dissolution of parliament or invalidated several times, and these are all reasons that have a negative impact On business continuity to achieve the vision.

What are the solutions?

Al-Faras believes that Kuwait's problem is not economic or financial, but rather political and needs political reform first, and adds that any reform must start from here, such as the need for an agreement or a national conference that brings together the government, the National Assembly, civil society and the private sector to agree on determining the future priorities for Kuwait.

Persians believe that it is possible to turn to economic and financial reform in the state, and research the budget while trying to overcome structural imbalances on both sides.

On the revenue side, there is a significant imbalance through the dependence of the state's general budget on oil revenues by up to 90% sometimes, as well as for expenses, as more than 90% of government spending is ongoing spending, especially on the mass of salaries and support provided.

No financial sustainability can be achieved without clear plans focused on economic diversification and reduced dependence on oil, he said.

Experts believe no financial sustainability can be achieved without clear plans focused on economic diversification and reduced dependence on oil (Reuters)

Scarcity of foreign investment

The writer specializing in economic affairs, Muhammad Al-Baghli, believes that the political environment in Kuwait can affect economic plans as a result and not a reason, pointing out that Kuwait cannot succeed in an economic vision or goals under a government formed according to quota standards and without a clear program and under a parliament that stimulates individual action, and this is the first reason for the difficult political environment that hinders any economic development, according to his expression Al-Bangli, who believes that Kuwait already suffers from a lack of foreign investments.

Al-Baghli believes that the vision of "Kuwait 2035" needs to be reviewed in the objectives and implementation mechanism, as this vision is an extension of plans and projects that have not succeeded in different names, such as the project to transform Kuwait into a commercial and financial center, the Tony Blair report, the study of the Economic Advisory Committee, the McKinsey report, and the first, second and third development plans, all of which received government approvals during about 19 years, but it was nothing more than a way to sell the illusion of development and development and buy time for goals that are mostly far from economic calculations, according to Description of Baghli.

Mohammed al-Baghli added that Kuwait urgently needs a state project in which management methods improve, especially through reforming the executive authority to work seriously to diversify sources of income, control spending, reform education in parallel with reforming the labor market, as well as addressing the conditions of demographics, not to mention supporting the proactive private sector, simplifying the business environment and combating monopoly.

The complexities of the political scene

As for the economic and financial analyst Maytham Al-Person, he points out in his speech to "Al Jazeera Net" the need for a stimulating political environment in order for the state to succeed in drawing up public policies and planning, including economic plans, which are the basis of the state on which the future is built and raising the level of welfare of its citizens, taking into account the matters of daily life, including the requirements of the state administration, which depends mainly on the economy in order to succeed in being a leading country.

He believes that Kuwait has gone through circumstances that have affected its economic march since its liberation from the Iraqi invasion, so politics from then until this day has been between a tug of war between the main political poles in the country, and this led to there being plans that are moving at a slow pace from other countries, because Kuwait is different from the Gulf countries, where it has a legislative authority represented by the National Assembly that must approve laws and plans, unlike other countries where there are no complications of this political scene.

ويضيف ميثم الشخص، أنه عندما تكون هناك بيئة تشريعية طاردة فلا بد أن يكون الاستثمار فيها صعبا جدا رغم وجود الفرص وكثير من المشاريع الواعدة، ويعتقد أن التعاون الحكومي البرلماني أساس العمل الاقتصادي المستقر وهذا ما يؤدي إلى نهوض الدولة اقتصاديا وانعكاس ذلك على بقية المرافق.