Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) organized the Third Public – Private Open Dialogue on Doing Business in Kuwait, on January 16, 2017 at the Regency Bidaa Hotel. The open dialogue was attended by the head and members of the Permanent Committee for streamlining Business Environment in Kuwait (PCK), the contributors from local legal and consulting firms and companies who filled the questionnaires for Kuwait in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report 2017 (DB2017), and the focal teams of the PCK members, along with the Director and staff of the World Bank Kuwait office.
Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Director General of KDIPA and Head of the PCK welcomed the audience. This was followed by the opening remarks from H.E. Minister of Commerce and Industry(MOCI) Khaled Naser Al-Roudan, who was keen to attend this event, and who expressed his genuine interest in seeing improvement in the business environment, through MOCI collaboration with ongoing efforts exerted by the PCK and KDIPA team, as well as hopefully the newly established parliamentarian committee on improving business environment in line with the vision of His Highness the Emir of Kuwait to position Kuwait as a leading financial and commercial center. Also as part of the opening speech, the Director General of the Kuwait Municipality, Engineer Ahmad Al-Manfouhi gave a brief summary of the recent efforts and achievements intended to facilitate municipal transactions.
This set the stage for the event’s agenda that commenced with a presentation given by Ms. Mona Salim Bseiso, member of the PCK and economic consultant at KDIPA, who summarized the status of Kuwait in the Ease of Doing Business Index 2017. This was followed by a presentation on ‘Women in Business in DB 2017’ by Mrs. Lina Adlouni, Legal Counsel – Adlouni & Partners Office, and a frequent contributor to the DB reports.
Mrs. Reem Mohamed Al-Banwa, the Rapporteur of the PCK and Director of Planning and Competitiveness Department at KDIPA, announced the launch of “TAHSEEN” portal for the public that will depict all relevant developments and information pertaining to the improvement of the business environment, accompanied by a presentation by Ms. Mai Al-Terkait, from KDIPA’s IT Centre, showcasing the site’s features. Then Mr. Mohammed Abdulkader, Senior Private Sector Specialist – Trade & Competitiveness (MENA), head of the WBG technical support team, conducted a brief presentation on the “National Reform Agenda for Doing Business in Kuwait”.
Subsequently, the floor was then open for questions from the audience to a panel of members of the PCK comprised of Dr. Khaled Mahdi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development; Engineer Jassim Alnaquaoui, Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Electricity and Water; Dr. Abdullah Omani, Deputy Director General of the Kuwait Municipality – Zoning Sector; and Ms. Adawia Failkawi, Director of the One Stop Shop – Kuwait Business Center (KBC) on behalf of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The meeting concluded thanking the audience for their participation and hoping for continued cooperation between all concerned parties with regards to improving the business environment in the country in order to duly enhance its productivity and competitiveness.
For more information on PCK visit www.tahseen.kdipa.gov.kw
