KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil, Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Dr Mohammad Al-Fares affirmed yesterday that Kuwait has all necessary components to achieve its aspirations for Kuwait's 2035 vision under the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

This came in a visual presentation given by Minister Al-Fares to the National Assembly during its complementary session. He explained that Kuwait's developmental journey is challenged by great obstacles, illustrating that this calls for comprehensive reformative action and a national strategy to ensure sustained development. It also requires a sense of awareness, responsibility and cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities.

Dr Al-Fares delved into the challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic proposed, slow economic recovery and fluctuation in oil prices, which have all taken their toll on the national economy. The Minister of Oil illustrated that the government work plan is comprised of four main axes, the first relates to economic recovery, the second revolves around reshaping the public sector, whereas the third concerns the development of human capital and the fourth relates to improving the infrastructure and employing the use of renewable energy.

A number of executive initiatives with set timetables, objectives and indicators that are periodically monitored, are planned for each of the four axes, Minister Al-Fares added. He noted that His Highness the Amir's unprecedented directives of initiating national dialogue between the two authorities paved the way for further collaboration and created a positive atmosphere for more development.

Crude price drops

Meanwhile, the price for OPEC's daily basket of crude dropped by $7.81 to $102.86 per barrel (pb) on Tuesday, compared with $110.67 pb Monday, the cartel said. The monthly average for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of crude last month was $69.89 last month, it said in a statement. OPEC and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed last month to proceed with a production hike of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), keeping their current policy of slight monthly increases in output. The OPEC+ alliance also agreed to follow up on the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor its repercussions on the market, making immediate adjustments if necessary.- KUNA