1. What type of political and legal systems does the country have?
Kuwait has constitutional monarchy. It has the oldest and directly elected parliament of the Persian Gulf Arab countries. Chief of state is the King. It is a hereditary title. The King appoints the prime minister. A council of ministers aids the prime minister in his task to head the government. The country practices civil law system with Islamic law. Islamic law is significant in personal matters. It does not have any political parties. Formation of political parties is illegal.
2. Do free elections take place?
Elections are held for a term of four years for both the National Assembly and for the Municipality. It has unicameral National Assembly . Elections are held earlier if the King exercises his power to dissolve the parliament. Elections in Kuwait meet a relatively high standard of fairness. The government does not interfere in the counting of the ballots. The election held in 2006 was the first general election in which Kuwaiti women could vote.
3. Is the government heavily involved in the economy?
Kuwait is a rich crude oil reserves. It has 10% of the world’s reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. The country imports most of the food products. Drinking water must be distilled or imported before use. Kuwait wants foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country. Kuwait’s budget has grown and trade surpluses are common because of the high oil prices in recent years.
4. Is the legal system effective and impartial?
Many Kuwaitis say that corruption is on the rise. The Kuwaiti Chamber of Commerce is badly affected by the corruption and the way reconstruction projects are handled. The Kuwaiti system acts as a barrier to American firms seeking business investment there.
5. Do political and legal conditions suggest that it could be further considered as a potential market?
It appears that the Kuwaiti system does not allow foreigners to business there and the practice of democracy is barely visible. In one example, the Kuwaiti government passed law in 2006 that restricts the freedom of speech. Country in which media has been restricted creates a huge obstacle for the businesspeople. Lately there have been plenty of news papers writers sent to court for stating their opinions regarding the government or specific ministries performance.
6. If so, for what kinds of goods and services might the market be appealing?
Kuwait is the largest exporter of oil in the Persian Gulf. The common industries are petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, and construction materials. It imports food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing. It exports oil and refined products, fertilizers. The German firm KPIOSC, US firm VIN etc is doing business there. The U.S. small-business community’s level of interest in doing business in Kuwait is staggeringly high. Kuwait, since does not have any agricultural products, businesses seeking export of food and general goods will benefit.
