These historic official visits between the two countries underscore the distinguished fraternal relations, culminating in the prosperous era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. In terms of foreign relations, Kuwait has played an active and positive role at the Gulf level within the collaborative efforts that led to the establishment of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Kuwait is a prominent and active member of the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the United Nations, in addition to being a member of numerous other Arab, Islamic, and international organizations.

Kuwait continues its foreign policy based on strengthening relations with various countries of the world, east and west, and extending bridges of friendship and cooperation with various peoples of the world in a way that benefits the nation and its citizens.

On the domestic front, Kuwait has begun a new economic phase after its official institutions approved its first development plan, which includes huge projects to be completed in the coming years. The projects included in the plan vary across many economic sectors, including oil, gas, electricity, water, and infrastructure such as airports, ports, housing, health, education, and social welfare. It has made progress in improving its business environment in recent years, as a result of many successive steps taken by the state.

The development plan came as part of a comprehensive 25-year strategic vision extending to 2035, which aims to transform Kuwait into a financial and commercial center that attracts investment, in which the private sector leads economic activity, fosters a spirit of competition, and raises production efficiency.

Through its “Kuwait 2035” vision, the State of Kuwait is striving to transform the country into a global financial and commercial center that attracts local and foreign investments. At the forefront of its projects is the “Silk City” project located on the waterfront in the Al-Subiya area in northeastern Kuwait. The project’s area is estimated at 250 square kilometers, and its construction is expected to take about 25 years at an estimated cost of about $86 billion, which, upon completion, will place Kuwait on the global economic, investment and tourism map.

It works to improve public services, develop national statistics and information systems, and provide an attractive investment environment in order to support development and improve the standard of living of citizens through various government agencies and institutions. In the coming period, it will focus on attracting foreign investors because of their importance in developing economic activities, in addition to the fact that they provide security stability to the region and fertile ground for more foreign investments.

The “Silk City” project has positive effects that are reflected on the economic, social and developmental levels of Kuwait, and contributes to reducing government spending, which is a key factor in attracting local and foreign investments.

The idea of ​​the project is to establish an independent free trade zone. This city is fully under Kuwaiti sovereignty while enjoying administrative, financial and legislative independence, and it works to create a new fertile investment environment in the northern Gulf that includes various vital fields and sectors.

The State of Kuwait spent approximately 490 million dinars on infrastructure, whether new projects or maintenance, during the fiscal year 2021/2022, representing 69% of the total amount allocated for spending on infrastructure maintenance and construction, which is 702 million dinars.

Kuwait is one of the world’s most important oil producers and exporters. It is a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and has the world’s fifth-largest oil reserves, with 10% of the world’s oil reserves located on its land. Oil and petroleum products represent approximately 95% of export revenues and 80% of government revenues. It is also one of the largest economies in the region, and the oil industry in Kuwait is the largest industry, covering approximately half of the gross domestic product and most of the exports.

The new Al-Zour refinery project tops the list of strategic projects related to the Kuwaiti oil industry in the “Kuwait 2035” vision, which will produce distinctive types of environmentally friendly fuels in accordance with global environmental conditions. The Kuwaiti government benefits from the financial surplus that has enabled it to increase public investments in infrastructure, and in very important investments that will reduce dependence on oil revenues.

Increase in credit facilities

The total population of Kuwait is 4,987,826. Kuwaiti labor market data shows that the total number of employees in the public and private sectors reached 2,247,029. Consumer spending by citizens and residents in Kuwait reached a record high of 47.81 billion dinars in 2024, an annual increase of 2.02 billion dinars, or 4.4%, compared to 45.79 billion dinars in 2023.

Credit facilities granted by the Kuwaiti banking sector during 2024 saw an increase in total loans granted to residents and non-residents by 3.62 billion dinars, bringing the cumulative balance to a new record high of 57.17 billion dinars by the end of December, compared to 53.55 billion dinars by the end of 2023, with a growth rate of 6.75%.

Deposits at Kuwaiti banks by residents and non-residents increased during 2024, reaching a level of 53.82 billion dinars, compared to the levels recorded at the end of 2023, which amounted to 53 billion dinars, an increase of 816 million dinars and a rise of 1.5%.

Improving the quality of services

The health sector in Kuwait enjoys special attention at the highest levels, thanks to ambitious and forward-looking development plans and an integrated healthcare system that keeps pace with medical and scientific developments.

The government pays great attention to the Ministry of Health's budget, and it is far from any reductions in its value or size. Rather, the state constantly seeks to develop health services and utilize the best global expertise and organizational methods.

The ministry also worked to improve the quality of services and develop national cadres with a high-quality healthcare system, and to develop occupational health services, represented by converting primary healthcare centers in industrial areas into specialized occupational medicine centers and increasing the number of internationally registered healthy cities to 16 healthy cities.

To bring about a qualitative leap in electronic services, the ministry has developed electronic applications concerned with health awareness for all age groups.

Women's leading role

Kuwait has allocated a special program concerned with developing national tourism, which aims to encourage investments in tourism activities in various regions of Kuwait and to make optimal use of tourism facilities and services in developing the tourism sector and increasing its competitiveness.

Spending on education topped the list of Kuwaiti government expenditures, with the total allocation for it during the 2022-2023 budget reaching about 2.9 billion dinars, an increase of 200 million dinars over the allocation for it in 2021, which was 2.7 billion dinars.

Kuwaiti women have proven their pioneering and active role in the development process that the State of Kuwait is witnessing in various fields. According to the provisions of the country’s constitution, they are considered an active member of society, and with their experiences, capabilities and qualifications, Kuwaiti women are considered an essential partner in preparing and implementing the “New Kuwait 2035” vision, alongside their Kuwaiti brothers.

Top-of-the-line road network

In the field of roads and transportation, Kuwait has a network of expressways with a high level of efficiency, safety and periodic maintenance. The length of the road network is approximately 4,600 kilometers, while the length of the expressways is 600 kilometers. The road network has about 282 concrete bridges and 26 iron bridges.

Kuwait has several airports, including two civilian airports: Kuwait International Airport and Sheikh Saad General Aviation Terminal, which is the headquarters of Kuwait Airways.

Kuwait International Airport, established in 1962, is the main hub for air traffic in Kuwait and is located 16 kilometers south of Kuwait City.

In the field of sports, the State of Kuwait is interested in all kinds of sports, and it has many sports federations. Football is the most popular sport in Kuwait, and Kuwait has many achievements in this field. The Kuwait national football team was the first Arab Asian team to qualify for the World Cup in 1982, and it was also the first Arab team to win the Asian Cup in 1980.