Kuwait intends to support economic development funds through reform

On Thursday, Kuwait’s foreign minister stated that the country’s policy of utilizing the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development to aid Arab and developing nations would be reconsidered.

In a video sent by the foreign ministry, Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah stated, “There are developments at the international level that require us to reconsider the mechanisms of the fund’s work and harness the fund’s work to preserve our national interests.”

Kuwait’s policy shift comes after Saudi Arabia’s finance minister said last month that the kingdom was changing how it helps allies. He said the kingdom would no longer give direct grants and deposits without conditions but would instead condition aid on reforms.

The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas reported earlier this week that the new policy of the Kuwaiti fund would offer loans to states in exchange for “voting before the (UN) Security Council or political support (for Kuwait) on specific issues).”

“Free loans will be reviewed, in addition to reviewing purely humanitarian actions that do not contain any agenda,” the report also stated, citing unidentified sources.

The fund, which was established in 1961, offers grants, soft loans, guarantees, technical assistance, and other forms of financial support for budgets.

According to its website, it has given more than 1,000 loans to 105 nations, totaling $21.9 billion.

Additionally, the foreign minister stated that Kuwait wanted to preserve its “human legacy,” which dates back more than 60 years.