KUWAIT: In collaboration with the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, the public sector employees syndicates union organized a symposium titled "Kuwait 2035: Kuwaiti Syndicates' Joint View," in which the main speaker was member of the supreme council for planning and development Nasser Al-Mujaibel. Mujaibel started by giving a quick historical background about Kuwait in the past and how the founding fathers established it to become an international trade route. He also spoke about its socioeconomic stability and how it turned into a point of attraction for migrants from everywhere.

Economic situation
Further, Mujaibel talked about Kuwait's current economic situation, warning that oil prices are expected to drop to a minimum in the coming 20 years in view of the growing demand for new sources of energy. "Kuwait's sovereign fund currently includes around KD 200 billion and the annually growing budget worth KD 22.5 billion," he explained, warning of funding the budget from the sovereign fund because it will not last more than 20 years and affect Kuwait's credit rating.
Speaking about Kuwait's 2035 vision, Mujaibel said that it aims at turning Kuwait into an international financial and economic hub capable of attracting private sector investments to lead the development process, while the government acts as a monitor, regulator and an auditor instead of an operator. Mujaibel stressed the vision is based on handling state budget imbalances through fighting corruption and cutting expenses, rationalizing the government's manpower, developing human resources and reforming the educational system.

Municipality meeting
In other news, Kuwait Municipality's supreme planning committee held a meeting yesterday to discuss official work plans. Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Fahd Al-Sholah, who chaired the meeting, said that he welcomes ideas and initiatives that will help achieve the municipality's aims, noting this includes ideas from municipal officials, employees and even citizens who can all contribute through filing complaints or proposals through the municipality website or in person.

By Meshaal Al-Enezi