Ziad Nakat

The ultimate goal of the World Bank’s efforts in Kuwait are to help the country achieve its vision for economic development and diversification.

What are the World Bank’s key development priorities in Kuwait?

Our priorities in Kuwait are to support the government, and to advance its reform agenda, as laid out in Vision 2035 and various government plans. Within that spirit, the World Bank has prepared a document called the Country Engagement Framework in consultation with the government of Kuwait that anchors the priority of our collaboration between 2021 and 2025. This engagement framework has four main pillars. The first is enabling the private sector as an engine of growth for job creation and a diversified economy. The second part, which is also extremely important, is investing in human capital. This is a key factor for wealth formation. The third pillar is enhancing governance and improving the effectiveness of public administration as well as delivery. The fourth pillar is promoting sustainable infrastructure. Some areas are transversal and part of all pillars. One is women’s empowerment and economic participation. We also see that as a vital dimension in our involvement. Climate change is also an important factor. The economic diversification agenda will remain a key pillar of the Kuwaiti economy. There is a need for diversification to achieve more fiscal sustainability and energize the economy with more activity in Kuwait. Another thematic element is the digitalization agenda in government and e-commerce.

How is the World Bank collaborating with Kuwait to address labor market challenges?

Currently, a large share of the labor market is government employment. We want to help shift the reform toward a more productive labor market. Some of this can be created in the private sector, but also within the government sector itself. We recently completed a National Job Strategy in collaboration with the Supreme Council for Planning focused on four areas of reform: making the public sector more sustainable; supporting private-sector growth; building a system of social protection; and promoting sustainable infrastructure and a healthy living environment. We need to build a system of social protection that will have an impact on the labor market. We also need to improve human capital. This includes skill building and education. We have previous studies including the National Jobs Strategy that identifies areas where the Kuwaiti economy could create more jobs in the private sector. The tertiary sector probably remains the most important sector for job creation—SMEs and entrepreneurship.

How does the World Bank engage with the private sector?

We engage with the private sector because it is a vital part of the economy, and many government reforms are based on the private sector’s perspective. We listen to constituent companies to understand the bottlenecks they experience and the opportunities they foresee. We also engage with the government on policies to promote the private sector, including investment and ease of doing business. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is the private arm of the World Bank. It engages directly with the private sector both in terms of knowledge and the financing of certain investment opportunities in developing markets. In terms of government priorities, the IFC works to advance reforms that enable the private sector.

What initiatives do you expect to accomplish in Kuwait?

The World Bank is here to support the state of Kuwait, historically an active donor and generous in many regional and global agendas. One of the pillars of Vision 2035 is foreign policy. We hope to leverage that partnership together with Kuwait to identify global and regional priorities. Global partnerships could be related to climate change or other initiatives. Regionally, one of our pillars is integration and reconstruction in certain countries where we can work closely with Kuwait and local institutions. The other important pillar concerns assisting Kuwait in achieving its vision for economic development and diversification. We have several tools and areas of experience that can benefit Kuwait on its path of economic transformation.