In light of rising geopolitical tensions affecting global trade, finance, and investment, Kuwait has taken prompt action to strengthen the economic defences of the Gulf region. Furthermore, according to a release issued by the Ministry of State for Economic Affairs and Investment (MoSEAI), the State of Kuwait has taken additional measures to ensure the continued movement of essential goods within the region, continue uninterrupted merchandise flow, and afford banks greater flexibility in support of continued economic activity.
These announcements were made during an extraordinary virtual meeting of the Permanent Preparatory Committee of the GCC at the ministerial level where the finance and economic ministries of member states had discussed with the secretary general of the GCC, Jasem Al-Budaiwi, to assess the effect of developments in the region on each of their countries’ economies.
Kuwait was represented at this meeting by Abdulaziz Al-Marzouq, Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment, which reflects the seriousness with which the State of Kuwait is responding to the multitude of pressure points currently impacting regional economies.
The ministerial meetings that took place were meant to answer one urgent question — how to ensure that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members maintain their economic momentum as the region will be subject to continued shocks from foreign countries. During this meeting, members reviewed the other GCC countries’ actions that had been taken to cushion their economy as a result of shortages or other supply chain disruptions. Some of the items discussed included the security of energy supplies, the ability to export oil and ensuring that both domestic and foreign investors would continue to have the ability to invest funds in the individual member’s countries.
In addition to these items, a presentation was made by the GCC Economic and Development Affairs Office regarding the emergency plans and response for the various economic and developmental sectors within each member. This indicates that the GCC members will not wait for the current conditions to correct themselves but will put into place a coordinated buffer against economic volatility.
The GCC member’s meeting was chaired by Yusuf Al-Hamoud, Bahrain’s undersecretary for financial affairs, on behalf of the minister of finance for the Kingdom of Bahrain. The meeting had a broader regional strategy that included tight coordination between the member countries, protecting investors’ confidence in the member countries and ensuring that the member countries keep the trading, financial and investment sectors active and operating as long as possible even while economic pressure was being experienced.
