Kuwait, (Business News Report)|| The World Bank confirmed that Kuwait has a golden opportunity to advance economic reforms, in light of the rise in oil prices.
The Regional Director of the World Bank for the Arab Gulf region Issam Abu Sulaiman said that Kuwait should take advantage of the high oil prices and make economic reforms in state finances in the short term.
Abu Sulaiman explained the possibility of Kuwait moving more towards the sustainability of its economy by starting quickly to restructure important economic sectors and rationalizing the subsidies directed to citizens.
He pointed out the need to infect the neediest of them and reduce them to those with high incomes, which leads to its sustainability in the future.
The World Bank’s regional director added that the current oil prices help the Kuwaiti government in the short term to pump investments in the “green economy” so that the state benefits from the huge jump in oil prices by starting creative economic projects that ensure the diversification of income sources away from oil.
Abu Sulaiman explained that creating a more sustainable green economy is a challenge that is not easy, but Kuwait is able to overcome it “easily” due to its strong capital that enables it to pump investments and build an economic infrastructure capable of facing global changes.
He pointed out that the most important challenge facing Kuwait is the transformation of major countries from dependence on oil to alternatives to clean energy gradually.
The World Bank is “fully ready” to assist the Kuwaiti government in transforming from an oil-based economy at more than 90% to a developed green economy with lower carbon emissions, he said.
As for the extent to which Kuwait’s credit rating has improved in light of the current high oil revenues and the soundness of the state’s public finances, Abu Sulaiman expected that credit ratings would improve in the short term.
He indicated at the same time, “the rating agencies do not take oil revenues as a single indicator in the rating process, but also look at the extent of countries’ commitment to economic reforms in all its aspects.”
Abu Sulaiman stressed Kuwait’s ability to implement the economic reforms recommended by the World Bank due to the country’s small size on the one hand and the strength of its financial solvency on the other hand, when compared to other large countries that have the same challenges.
