Attracting foreign capital essential amid falling oil prices: Minister

Minister of Commerce and Industry and Acting Minister of State for Youth Affairs Khalid Al-Roudhan has said that attracting foreign investments to Kuwait is basic for Kuwait over the coming period amid the falling prices. Roudhan’s made the statement on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East and North Africa at the Dead Sea, Jordan. Themed ‘Empowering Generations into the Future,’ the forum groups 1,100 public and private sector officials as well as political and business leaders from more than 50 countries.

The forum is a good opportunity to meet with the world’s leading companies, and offer the investment opportunities available in Kuwait, the minister added, highlighting the significant steps the country has taken to improve the business environment. Kuwait offers a “very good” legal environment for foreign investors, the minister said.

Roudhan referred to some investment-encouraging legislations, including one allowing 100 percent foreignowned companies. The forum is a ‘major platform’ to meet with senior officials and business leaders from various world countries to exchange views and keep pace with trade developments in the region, the minister noted.

He stressed keenness on attending all the workshops and panel discussions of the forum, tackling key issues such as the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Kuwait has recently launched an intensified plan for simplifying and streamlining the measures for founding SMEs, topped with reducing the time for issuing business licenses, he said.

Comprehensive economy

Meanwhile, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hind Barrak Al-Sabeeh said that Kuwait is hard at work to build a comprehensive economy in partnership with the private sector. The country has drawn up plans and programs for stimulating the economy and diversify the sources of income, through cooperation and partnership with the private sector, Sabeeh said on the sidelines of the opening session.

The minister added that she took part in some of the forum’s sessions and workshops, especially on preservation of the environment, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), promoting the business scene, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. Sabeeh lauded Jordan’s successful entrepreneurship experience, one of the topics to be discussed by participants in the forum.

The Dead Sea WEF offers a collaborative platform for deciding on the future of the Middle East and North Africa through public-private cooperation. It also aims to address continued geopolitical shifts and humanitarian challenges by supporting multi-stakeholder dialogue on the situation in Syria, Iraq and Libya, and the ongoing refugee crisis. This is the 9th World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa hosted by Jordan, since it was first held in the Dead Sea in 2003. — KUNA