meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Kuwait looks to capitalise on consolidation of power

12 August 2025

 

The passing of the debt law in March 2025 appeared to herald a new page being turned in Kuwait’s turbulent history, after a five-year period that witnessed 10 cabinet resignations, four parliamentary elections and repeated gridlock hamstringing decision-making.

Members of parliament (MPs) had previously blocked the government’s attempts to bring in legislation to allow the state to issue debt. However, more than one year on from emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s dissolution of the National Assembly and the suspension of key elements of the Kuwaiti constitution, the leadership managed to unshackle itself from traditional constraints on policymaking and pass the law.

Such reforms have real-world impacts on Kuwait. The public debt law allows the sovereign to issue up to KD30bn ($98bn) over 50 years, releasing funds to support centrepiece economic projects. Given that past political logjams had delayed economic reforms – contributing, according to Fitch Ratings, to a reduction in real GDP of 2.8% in 2024 – there should at least be some upside from moves that have drawn criticism for setting Kuwait on a path towards autocracy.

What would provide further reassurance that the emir’s consolidation of power is having a positive impact would be for the proposed residential mortgage law to be approved, which would allow banks to offer housing loans to Kuwaiti citizens.

Political uncertainty

Much is still unclear about the path forward. Parliament’s suspension is intended to be limited to its four-year term. This should allow for further measures of constitutional change designed to prevent a repeat of the impasse and delays that have frustrated ordinary Kuwaitis for many years.

The situation is not helped by the advanced age of Sheikh Meshal, who is about to turn 85. That leaves questions as to whether the legislature will ever return to its former status as an independent chamber able to scrutinise government actions, and whether a reformed parliament will emerge from the process – without the attendant political dysfunction that has marked its performance.

As one Kuwaiti analyst tells MEED, there is no evidence that radical political change is on the emir’s agenda. “The public does not expect the parliament’s suspension to last long. The system is broadly the same as before.”

Other analysts see a status quo setting in over the near- to medium-term, giving the leadership some room to manoeuvre.

“There’s no realistic prospect of a return of the National Assembly in the coming year, and the broader public’s dissatisfaction with MPs, viewed as largely responsible for the impasse and failure to support the country’s development, means there is less pressure on Sheikh Meshal to revive the legislature anytime soon,” says Kristian Ulrichsen, Middle East fellow at Rice University. 

There is a strong sense in the leadership’s circle that decision-making is now proceeding more smoothly, and that popular frustrations with MPs’ actions over successive years leaves the executive with more leeway to develop a bold political and economic platform.

“Many Kuwaitis believed that allowing the broken system to continue as before would have achieved nothing. This has given Sheikh Meshal a level of support in his moves to consolidate power,” says Ulrichsen.

That does not mean that Sheikh Meshal’s proposed path will lead to success. “Suspending parliament was still a high-risk move by the emir, as with the legislature out of the way, there’s no-one but himself to blame if things go wrong,” says Ulrichsen.  

Many Kuwaitis believed that allowing the broken system to continue as before would have achieved nothing

The extension of executive power has not meant an end to Kuwait’s political turbulence. The resignation of Finance Minister Nora Al-Fassam on 4 August, just weeks before she was due to compete here first year in office, is the latest in a series of high-level cabinet departures. No reason has been given for her quitting the cabinet.

Contentious rulings

A more lasting source of political turmoil is the controversial decision to remove the citizenship of an estimated 42,000 Kuwait citizens since September 2024, when the government enforced changes to the country’s Nationality Law.

This is proving the most contentious of the changes wrought by Sheikh Meshal since he took power in December 2023.  Those affected include individuals who have been accused of creating fake family relationships to win citizenship and women naturalised via marriage to Kuwaitis.

The citizenship revocation campaign reflects a populist agenda to strengthen nationalist sentiment around conceptions of citizenship. While it may have won public support in its targeting of foreigners who have been accused of attempting to secure generous welfare entitlements that are the birthright of Kuwaitis of ancestral citizenship, its broad scope means it also risks incurring wider opposition, say analysts.

“The citizenship issue risks becoming the biggest challenge in Kuwait, more even than the suspension of parliament,” says Ulrichsen.

The Kuwaiti analyst sees the citizenship move as not explicitly politically motivated, but that it may over time inveigle regime supporters who are seen as more likely to marry people from outside Kuwait.

The citizenship issue risks becoming the biggest challenge in Kuwait, more even than the suspension of parliament

Kuwait’s political gaze is not just turned inward. Relations with its neighbours have also come into view recently, most notably with Iraq, with whom a dispute over a joint waterway has reignited.

A group of Iraqi politicians have claimed that a bilateral agreement from 2012 regulating navigation in the 120-kilometre-long Khor Abdullah channel separating the two countries infringes on Iraqi sovereignty. They have persuaded the Supreme Court in Baghdad to rule that approval of the scheme by the country’s parliament failed to meet constitutional requirements.

Iraqis have more recently accused Kuwaiti vessels of entering Iraq’s waters, ignoring Iraqi Navy requests for their withdrawal. Kuwait and its GCC partners have signalled their anger at this expression of Iraqi nationalist sentiment. Officials are hoping it does not escalate further, but if it does become an issue around which Iraqi political factions unite, Kuwait’s achievement in building a lasting understanding with Baghdad may be under threat – just three years after Iraq concluded its UN-instituted financial compensations relating to the occupation of Kuwait in 1990.

For now, the Kuwaiti approach is to dial down the hostility and let diplomacy take its course, however renewed friction with its large neighbour is not a prospect that will fill Kuwait’s leadership with joy.

Domestically, however, Sheikh Meshal may have reason to feel more confident. For now, he has sufficient political space to continue on his chosen path. The anticipated passing of a mortgage law in coming months would be one more signal to the public that his decisions have improved their lives. That focus on delivery would go a long way to ensuring that Kuwait’s critical voices remain dimmed for a while longer.

Momentum builds in Kuwait construction

READ THE AUGUST 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

Gulf heads into a new era of aviation; Maghreb’s resilience rises despite global pressures; GCC banks expand issuance amid demand

Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the August 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

> MAGHREB MARKET FOCUS: Maghreb pushes for stability
To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14451847/main.jpg
Dominic Dudley

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • AIQ and SLB to deploy agentic AI to Adnoc operations

    12 August 2025

    Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence (AI) services provider AIQ has entered into an agreement with US oil field services major SLB for the development and deployment of AIQ’s ENERGYai (Energy to the Power of AI) agentic AI system across subsurface operations at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).

    Built on 70 years of proprietary data and knowledge, ENERGYai combines large language model technology with agentic AI, which is trained for specific workflows across Adnoc’s upstream operations.

    Early indications of ENERGYai's capabilities in a test environment using 15% of Adnoc’s data, and looking specifically at two fields, resulted in a seismic agent achieving a 10 times increase in the speed of seismic interpretation and a 70% increase in precision.

    In March, Adnoc awarded AIQ a $340m contract to deploy ENERGYai across its operations.

    AIQ and SLB will jointly design and deploy new agentic AI workflows across Adnoc’s subsurface operations, including for geology, seismic explorations and reservoir modelling, supported by SLB’s Lumi data and AI platform and other digital technologies.

    A scalable version of ENERGYai is under development, which will include AI agents covering tasks within subsurface operations. Deployment will commence in the last quarter of this year.

    The agreement between AIQ and SLB builds on another agreement that the companies signed in March to facilitate autonomous operations in the energy sector through the adoption of edge AI and Internet of Things technologies, and specifically to promote the use of Agora edge technology.

    ALSO READ: SLB completes $7.8bn US oil field services firm acquisition

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14452804/main4800.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Local firm submits lowest bid for $1.7bn Kuwait power project

    12 August 2025

    Kuwait-based International General Trading & Contracting has submitted the lowest bid for a contract to supply, install, operate and maintain combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) units at the Subiya power and water distillation station.

    The contract involves delivering new CCGT units to boost efficiency and meet Kuwait's growing demand for electricity.

    Three firms submitted bids for the contract. The bidders and their prices are:

    • International General Trading & Contracting Company: KD516.89m ($1.68bn)
    • Heavy Engineering & Shipbuilding Industries Company: KD548.45m ($1.78bn)
    • Al-Dhow Engineering General Trading & Contracting Company: KD569.39m ($1.85bn)

    The tender was issued by Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water & Renewable Energy with a bid submission deadline of 5 August 2025.

    The phase four expansion follows separate works tendered for engineering services to convert the plant’s 250MW second phase from open-cycle gas turbines to CCGT.

    This tender closed in July with Alghanim International General Trading & Contracting again making the lowest bid.

    The Subiya power and water distillation station is Kuwait’s largest power and water facility, with a generation capacity of 7,046.7MW, accounting for about 35% of the country’s installed power.

    It also has a water desalination capacity of 100 million imperial gallons a day.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14452369/main5151.jpg
  • Sports Boulevard tenders Global Sports Tower

    12 August 2025

     

    Saudi Arabia’s Sports Boulevard Foundation has issued a tender inviting firms to bid for a contract to build its Global Sports Tower in the Athletics District of the Sports Boulevard development in Riyadh.

    The tender was issued on 31 July with a submission deadline of 30 September.

    The 130-metre-tall Global Sports Tower will cover an area of 84,000 square metres (sq m) and will include over 30 different sports facilities.

    The tower will have the world’s tallest indoor climbing wall at 98 metres and a 250-metre running track.

    In May, MEED exclusively reported that Sports Boulevard Foundation had completed the design work on Global Sports Tower and the tender was expected to be issued imminently.

    Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud approved designs for Global Sports Tower in July last year.

    Sports Boulevard runs through Riyadh from east to west. Once complete, it will be the world’s longest park, at over 135 kilometres.

    The project will be spread across different districts within the park. These include the Wadi Hanifah, Arts, Urban Wadi, Entertainment, Athletics and Eco districts and Sands Sports Park.

    The large-scale project aims to transform the cityscape of central Riyadh, which is currently dominated by major highways, into a recreational area.

    Sports Boulevard will feature 4.4 million sq m of public realm and landmark buildings, including Global Sports Tower, the Centre for Cinematic Arts and a 2,000-seat amphitheatre.

    The development will also offer over 2.3 million sq m of mixed-use commercial, residential and retail assets and sports facilities around the park, which is called Linear Park.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14451862/main.jpeg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Emerge and EDB to collaborate on UAE solar projects

    11 August 2025

    UAE-based renewable energy firm Emerge and Emirates Development Bank (EDB) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for potential collaboration in developing and financing distributed solar projects in the UAE.

    Under the MoU, Emerge – a joint venture of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and France’s EDF Group – will identify potential financing opportunities for renewable energy projects.

    EDB will explore the provision of financing support for projects that Emerge intends to develop.

    Emerge was formed in 2021 to develop distributed solar, battery storage, off-grid solar and hybrid solutions for commercial and industrial sectors.

    The company currently supplies clean electricity to more than 40 commercial, industrial, educational and hospitality sites in the GCC region. It also manages a portfolio exceeding 250 megawatt-peak, spanning both operational projects and those under development.

    ALSO READ: Sharjah inaugurates its first solar plant developed by SNOC and Emerge

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14446993/main50545028.jpg
    MEED Editorial
  • Riyadh to tender Expo 2030 infrastructure in Q3

    11 August 2025

     

    Saudi Arabia’s Expo 2030 Riyadh Company (ERC), tasked with delivering the Expo 2030 Riyadh venue, is expected to float the tender for the project's initial infrastructure works by September.

    Earlier in August, MEED exclusively reported that ERC had received interest from contractors on 24 July for the infrastructure package.

    MEED understands the expression of interest notice was issued on 17 July.

    The infrastructure works covering the construction of main utilities and civil works will be tendered in three packages:

    • Lot 1 covers the main utilities corridor
    • Lot 2 includes the northern cluster of the nature corridor
    • Lot 3 comprises the southern cluster of the nature corridor

    The tendering for the infrastructure package follows ERC receiving bids from firms on 6 July for a contract to build the site offices required for initial construction works at the project.

    In July, US-based engineering firm Bechtel Corporation announced it had won the project management consultancy deal for the delivery of the Expo 2030 Riyadh masterplan construction works.

    The masterplan encompasses an area of 6 square kilometres, making it one of the largest sites designated for a World Expo event. Situated to the north of the Saudi capital, the site will be located near the future King Salman International airport, providing direct access to various landmarks within Riyadh.

    Countries participating in Expo 2030 Riyadh will have the option to construct permanent pavilions. This initiative is expected to create opportunities for business and investment growth in the region.

    The expo is forecast to attract more than 40 million visitors.

    In June, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth vehicle, launched ERC as a wholly-owned subsidiary to build and operate facilities for Expo 2030.

    In a statement, the PIF said: “During its construction phases, Expo 2030 Riyadh and its legacy are projected to contribute around $64bn to Saudi GDP and generate approximately 171,000 direct and indirect jobs. Once operational, it is expected to contribute approximately $5.6bn to GDP.”

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14445633/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal