Kuwait To Adopt Laws To Facilitate Investment, Employment - Min

Minister of Industry and Commerce Khaled Al-Roudhan said on Friday the Kuwaiti government and parliament are working on a new package of legislations to facilitate private investment and create jobs.

The new laws aim to alleviate burdens on the government and maximize benefit from national workforce, said Al-Roudhan who is also acting minister of state for youth affairs.

He made the comments at a workshop on entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa region. The event is being held on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa.

Al-Roudhan noted that the new government tendency is meant to improve the business environment, combat unemployment and encourage youth to work in the private sector, particularly in the industrial field.

"Regarding the business sector, the Kuwaiti government launched more industrial areas and furnished them with integrated services and offered incentives for private sector companies," he pointed out.

Dealing with the obstacles facing entrepreneurship, he said bureaucracy used to be the main impediment; this is why the government adopted measures to cut red tape so as to facilitate work in this vital sector.

"The new measures reduced to just seven days the time needed to get license for a private company; this contributed to the launching of 873 companies since last April," the minister revealed.

"The government is preparing for amending the act of Kuwait National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprise Development in a way that enables the fund to protect the interests of owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and linking them with the competent state bodies," he went on.

The workshop gathered dozens of decision-makers, CEOs of leading global corporations, and successful entrepreneurs from MENA and beyond.

Speakers at the event shed light on the deal reached in late March by the US E-commerce giant Amazon to acquire the largest online retail platform in the Arab world Souq.com that reports over 45 million visits per month.

The three-day World Economic Forum on Middle East and North Africa, themed this year "Rebuilding Peace, Connecting Start-Ups, Preparing for Future Jobs," will officially open tomorrow, Saturday under auspices of Jordanian King Abdullah II.

Besides Al-Roudhan, Kuwait's delegation to the gathering includes Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hind Al-Sabeeh as well as several senior officials, economists and business leaders.

SOURCE : KUNA

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