In a tone of confidence in the ability to change and achieve achievement, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Oil, Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment, Acting Minister of Finance Dr. Saad Al-Barrak revealed the most prominent features of the government’s strategy to improve the economy as the “foundation” and “pillar of life,” stressing that the economy is a goal policy, not the other way around.
The Deputy Prime Minister said actions speak louder than words and this should be the vision of building a new Kuwait.
Dr. Al-Barrak, who was a guest on the “On the Agenda” program that is published by the Al-Rai newspaper and broadcast on its digital platforms, touched on the basic problem that “oil represents 88 percent of the state’s revenues,” explaining that “this in itself is a great risk. We are dependent on the price of oil, which we can never control… because the political conditions in the world and their fluctuations may reduce oil to low levels, and this threatens the economic security of Kuwait.
One of the most important plans of the government to diversify sources of income is to develop the Kuwaiti islands into economic zones and embrace a very important financial center, according to Al-Barrak, who expressed his confidence in Kuwait’s ability, through partnerships with great countries and major companies, to create 250,000 jobs over 15 years.
He pointed out that “the heart of the economy is the job industry, and the state cannot be the only employee,” pointing to the importance of the role of the private sector “in its original sense and not in the distorted concept that circulates in Kuwait,” stressing the need to correct this distortion because “the private sector leads any development in the world”.
Regarding the expected time period for the citizen to feel the change, Al-Barrak stressed that comprehensive economic change needs about 15 years, but “during this time there will be progress, meaning that we can create, for example, in the first years 20,000 or 40,000 jobs, and relieve the state with better and more attractive and tender jobs to people.”
The government’s work program, he said, is a preparatory basis for a long-term plan, “and we presented it as a platform and then we build on this platform,” stressing that the government will interact positively with the remarks made by the deputies on the program.
While praising the government-parliamentary cooperation, which resulted in the approval of four ‘imaginary’ laws, as he described them, he said, it is “a good indicator of what we want to do in the next four years.”
Al-Barrak said he is confident that “we will see the achievements on an annual basis, starting from the end of 2023.” He pointed out the importance of giving the government enough time to complete projects and implement plans, “because trust is built and not born… and building it is difficult.”
He explained, “Our long-term plan starts from 2024 to 2040… The first four years are the key to the next 12 years, if we do well in it, God willing.”
He also touched on the draft public debt law, criticizing the prevailing perception, which is incorrect, that it will affect the citizen’s pocket, stressing that there is no connection between the two matters. To the contrary, “the citizen’s pocket may be affected if there is no public debt.”
He emphasized that the “public debt” allows the government to have the ability and flexibility to use it publicly in times of need, recalling that it was used a lot in Kuwait’s march, “and there is nothing unusual or heresy about it.”
Al-Barrak explained the importance of the private sector, stressing that “no country can run a business…because governance and trade do not meet, and if they do, it is the basis of corruption.”
He pointed out that “government companies have no competitors, and whoever has no competitor in the world of the economy has no life and is doomed to extinction, because competition is what improves and develops performance and secures the minimum level of prudence in business.”
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