Kuwait: Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy
Kenneth Katzman
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
May 4, 2015
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RS21513

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Kuwait: Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

Summary
Kuwait remains pivotal to U.S. efforts to secure the Persian Gulf region because of its willingness
to cooperate with U.S. strategy and military operations in the region and its proximity to both Iran
and Iraq. Kuwait arguably became even more central to the U.S. ability to project power in the
northern Persian Gulf when all U.S. combat troops left Iraq in 2011. Kuwait has helped Iraq
reintegrate into the Arab world; it is supporting U.S. efforts to contain Iranian power and enforce
Iran sanctions; and it is procuring missile defense technology that furthers the U.S. goal of a
GCC-wide missile defense network. Still, as demonstrated by the Amir of Kuwait’s May 2014
visit to Iran, Kuwait maintains relatively normal economic and political relations with Iran so as
not to provoke the Islamic Republic. Kuwait receives no U.S. foreign assistance and has been a
significant donor to U.S. operations in the region since Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Kuwait is supporting U.S.-led efforts to defeat the Islamic State organization by hosting the
operational command center for U.S.-led Operation Inherent Resolve that is attempting to defeat
the Islamic State, and by placing its airbases and other military facilities at the disposal of the
operation. Kuwait is not itself participating militarily in Inherent Resolve. Nor is it reported to be
to supporting the Sunni-led armed rebellion in Syria, but Kuwait is organizing international
pledges of humanitarian aid for civilian victims of the Syria civil war. Some U.S.-Kuwait
differences have emerged over what U.S. officials say is Kuwait’s inability to stanch the flow of
private Kuwaiti funds to extremist Islamist groups fighting in Syria.
On other regional issues, Kuwait generally acts in partnership with its allies in the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC). In March 2011, Kuwait sent naval forces as a largely symbolic
participation in GCC military intervention to help Bahrain’s government suppress an uprising by
the majority Shiite population. Kuwait’s leadership, along with that of Saudi Arabia and UAE,
sees Muslim Brotherhood-related organizations as a domestic threat, and all three countries
supported the Egyptian military’s July 2013 removal of elected president and senior Muslim
Brotherhood leader Mohammad Morsi from power. Kuwait is participating in a Saudi-led
coalition formed in March 2015 to try to blunt advances by the Shiite “Houthi” rebel movement
in Yemen. Kuwait has tended to defer to GCC leader Saudi Arabia and other GCC states in
offering proposals to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
Kuwait’s political system could serve as a model for the Middle East; it has successfully
incorporated secular and Islamist political factions, both Shiite and Sunni, for many decades.
However, Kuwait was in turmoil during 2006-2013, initially manifesting as parliamentary
opposition to Sabah family political dominance but later broadening to visible public unrest in
2012-2013 over the ruling family’s power and privileges. The latest parliamentary elections, in
July 2013, produced a National Assembly amenable to working with the ruling family. The
government also has increasingly imprisoned and revoked the citizenship of social media critics
for “insulting the Amir” – somewhat tarnishing Kuwait’s reputation for political tolerance.
The years of political paralysis also have contributed to economic stagnation relative to Kuwait’s
more economically vibrant Gulf neighbors such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
As are the other GCC states, Kuwait is also struggling with the consequences of the sharp fall in
oil prices since mid-2014.

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Contents
Government and Political Reform ................................................................................................... 1
Leadership Structure .................................................................................................................. 1
Elected National Assembly ........................................................................................................ 1
Political Factions in and Outside the National Assembly ................................................... 2
Post-2006 Political Crises: Assembly Suspensions and Elections ............................................ 3
Elections During 2006-2009 ............................................................................................... 3
Arab Uprisings Intensify Kuwaiti Political Crisis ............................................................... 4
U.S. Responses and Implications for U.S. Interests ............................................................ 7
Broader Human Rights Issues ................................................................................................... 7
Women’s Rights .................................................................................................................. 7
Trafficking in Persons ......................................................................................................... 8
Status of “Stateless Persons“ (Bidoons) .............................................................................. 8
Freedom of Expression and Media Freedoms ..................................................................... 8
Labor Rights ........................................................................................................................ 9
Religious Freedom .............................................................................................................. 9
U.S.-Kuwait Relations and Defense Cooperation .......................................................................... 10
Defense Cooperation: 1987-2011 ...................................................................................... 11
Cooperation Post-U.S. Withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 ...................................................... 13
Hosting Coalition Operations Against the Islamic State Organization ............................. 13
U.S. Security Assistance .......................................................................................................... 14
Major U.S. Arms Sales to Kuwait ..................................................................................... 14
International Military Education and Training (IMET)..................................................... 15
Other Foreign Policy Issues ........................................................................................................... 16
Residual Bilateral Issues With Iraq ......................................................................................... 16
Iran ........................................................................................................................................... 18
Actions on 2011 Uprisings and Instability in the Region ........................................................ 18
Arab-Israeli Dispute ................................................................................................................ 20
Performance on Countering Terrorism Financing/Islamic State Donations ............................ 21
Kuwaiti Economic Policy .............................................................................................................. 22

Figures
Figure 1. Map of Kuwait................................................................................................................ 25

Tables
Table 1. Composition of the National Assembly: 2008–2013 ......................................................... 6
Table 2. U.S. Aid to Kuwait and Purposes ..................................................................................... 15
Table 3. Some Basic Facts ............................................................................................................. 24

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Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 25

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Government and Political Reform1
Kuwait’s optimism after the 2003 fall of its nemesis, Saddam Hussein, soured after the January
15, 2006, death of Amir (ruler) Jabir Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah. Since then, Kuwait has lurched
from one political crisis to the next, producing a sense of economic and political stagnation. At
the time of Amir Jabir’s death, his successor, Shaykh Sa’ad bin Abdullah Al Sabah, was very ill
(he later died), and a brief succession dispute among rival branches of the ruling Al Sabah family
ensued. It was resolved with then Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah, the
younger brother of the late Amir, succeeding him on January 29, 2006. Shaykh Sabah is about 83
years old. The succession dispute was unprecedented in Kuwait and the broader Gulf region for
the first involvement of an elected legislature in replacing a leader.
Although the leadership question was resolved, it produced a suspension of the tacit agreement to
alternate succession between the Jabir and Salem branches of the family. Amir Sabah appointed
two members of his Jabir branch as Crown Prince/heir apparent and as prime minister (Shaykh
Nawwaf al-Ahmad Al Sabah and Shaykh Nasser al Muhammad al-Ahmad Al Sabah
respectively).
Leadership Structure
Under Kuwait’s 1962 constitution, an Amir (Arabic word for prince, but which is also taken as
“ruler”) is the head of state and ruler of Kuwait. He serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces, appoints all judges, and has the power to suspend the National Assembly for limited
periods of time. The Amir can be as involved in or detached from day-to-day governance as he
chooses; Amir Sabah tends to be more directly involved in governance than was his predecessor.
The Amir appoints a Prime Minister as head of government, who in turn appoints a cabinet. The
Prime Minister has always been a member of the Sabah family, and until 2003 the Prime Minister
and Crown Prince/heir apparent posts were held by a single person. Some in the Sabah family
argue that the Prime Minister and Crown Prince positions should again be combined because the
National Assembly is not constitutionally able to question the Crown Prince. In typical Kuwaiti
cabinets, three out of four deputy prime ministers are members of the family, as are the Defense
Minister, Foreign Minister, Interior Minister, and at least a few others of the 28 ministers. The
Prime Minister is Shaykh Jabir al-Mubarak Al Sabah, who first took office in December 4, 2011.
Elected National Assembly
The National Assembly, established by Kuwait’s November 1962 constitution, is the longest-
serving all-elected body among the Gulf monarchies. Fifty seats are elected, and up to 16
members of the cabinet serve in the Assembly ex-officio. The government has expanded the
electorate gradually: in the 1990s, the government extended the vote to sons of naturalized
Kuwaitis and Kuwaitis naturalized for at least 20 years (as opposed to 30) years. Kuwait women

1 Much of this section is from the State Department’s country report on human rights practices for 2013 (released
February 27, 2014), http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2013&dlid=
220363#wrapper; the International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 (June 19, 2014), and http://www.state.gov/j/drl/
rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?year=2013&dlid=222299#wrapper; and the Trafficking in Persons Report for 2014
(July 2014), http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/226847.pdf
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obtained suffrage rights when the National Assembly passed a government draft bill to that effect
in May 2005. In recent elections, about 400,000 Kuwaitis have been eligible to vote.
Kuwait’s National Assembly has more scope of authority than any legislative or consultative
body in the Persian Gulf. It can introduce legislation as well as vote on government-introduced
legislation. The Assembly does not confirm cabinet nominees (individually or en bloc), but it can,
by simple majority, remove individual ministers in a vote of “no confidence.” When the
Assembly takes that step, it generally does so after parliamentary questioning of that minister,
referred to as “grilling.” The Assembly can vote no confidence in the prime minister by voting
“inability to cooperate with the government,” and it can veto government decrees issued during
periods of Assembly suspension. Kuwait’s Amirs have, on several occasions (1976-1981, 1986-
1992, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012), used their constitutional authority to dissolve the
Assembly when it grilled or threatened to grill government ministers. Suspension of the Assembly
mandates new elections within 60 days.
Those opposing the government have tended to seek greater authority for the Assembly and a
limitation of the powers of the government and by extension, the Al Sabah. Much of the
opposition seeks a constitutional monarchy in which an elected majority within the Assembly
would name a Prime Minister, who would assemble a cabinet.
Political Factions in and Outside the National Assembly
Political parties are still not permitted, but factions are organized and compete in Assembly
elections as “currents,” “trends,” or “political societies.” Many of these factions organize at a
parallel traditional Kuwaiti forum called the diwaniyya—informal social gatherings, held at night,
hosted by elites of all ideologies and backgrounds. Factions in Kuwait, both in and outside the
National Assembly, are often fluid, but in general they group as follows:
The “Opposition”
• “Liberals.” Highly educated elites who tend to form the core of the opposition to
the government. Many of the liberals had been part of Arab nationalist
movements in the 1960s and 1970s, and in many cases have studied abroad. In
prior years they had operated under the banner “Kuwait Democratic Forum.”
Some liberal Kuwaitis often side with the government.
• Sunni Islamists. They are generally opposed to the government. Within this broad
category, there are two major groupings: those linked to the Muslim
Brotherhood, and harder line Sunnis called Salafists. Those linked to the Muslim
Brotherhood have often operated under a banner called the Islamic Constitutional
Movement (ICM).
• Youths and Intellectuals. The broader opposition, outside the National Assembly,
the opposition includes youth and intellectuals, many of whom have become
more active since the Arab uprisings began in early 2011 but have been active in
Kuwait far longer than that. Since 2008, these groups have sometimes organized
during election campaigns to support liberal deputies, using such names as the
“Orange Movement” or “Fifth Fence.”
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Government Supporters
• “Tribalists.” Generally less educated but who dominate two out of the five
electoral districts and tend to support the government, although not universally.
At times, some tribalists in the Assembly have grouped into a faction widely
referred to as “service deputies”—Assembly members primarily focused on
steering government largesse and patronage to their constituents.
• Shiites. Most in the Assembly are Islamists, assembled in a bloc called the
National Islamic Alliance. They tend to side with the government, perhaps out of
greater concern about Sunni Islamists.
• Women. When in the Assembly, female deputies, both Shiite and Sunni, have
tended to align with the government.
Post-2006 Political Crises: Assembly Suspensions and Elections
The constant disputes between the Al Sabah and oppositionists in the Assembly during 2006-2013
manifested as repeated Assembly suspensions and subsequent elections. None of these actions has
resolved fundamental differences over the power balance between the executive and the
legislature.
Elections During 2006-2009
• June 29, 2006, election. Five months after becoming leader, Amir Sabah
suspended the Assembly in May 2006 when 29 opposition members demanded to
question the Prime Minister over the government’s refusal to reduce the number
of electoral districts to five (from 25). The opposition proposal was intended to
reduce the electoral influence of “vote buying” or tribal politics. In the resulting
election, the opposition attracted youth support under the “Orange” banner and
won 34 out of the 50 seats. The election was the first in which women could vote
or run, but none of the 27 female candidates won. After the election, the Amir
accepted demands to reduce the number of electoral districts to five. A law to
implement that change was adopted.
• May 17, 2008, Election. The disputes between the opposition and the government
produced another crisis in March 2008 when the Assembly insisted on pay raises
for state employees. The government refused, the cabinet resigned, and the Amir
dissolved the Assembly and set new elections for May 17, 2008. Sunni Islamists
and conservative tribal leaders won a total of 24 seats, an increase of 4, and their
allies—the so-called “liberals”—won 7 seats. Shiites increased their
representation by one, to a total of five seats. Pro-government and other
independent tribalists held the remaining 14 seats. None of the 27 female
candidates was elected.
• May 16, 2009, Election. The power struggle between the government and
opposition deputies flared anew in March 2009 when the Assembly insisted on
questioning the Prime Minister on his handling of the global financial crisis and
alleged misuse of public funds. On March 19, 2009, the Amir suspended the
Assembly, triggering elections held on May 16, 2009. Turnout was relatively
light at about 55% of the 385,000 eligible voters, and produced more than 20 new
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parliamentarians, including four women (the first ever elected). Subsequently, on
December 17, 2009, a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister failed, and
another such vote failed, but only narrowly, on January 5, 2011 (22 of the 50
Assembly deputies voted no confidence).2
Arab Uprisings Intensify Kuwaiti Political Crisis
The Arab uprisings that began in early 2011 broadened Kuwait’s opposition beyond just elites. In
late January 2011, opposition deputies, supported by youths calling themselves the “Fifth Fence,”
demanded the Interior Minister resign for failing to prevent the alleged torturing to death of a man
in custody. He acceded to that demand to avoid a planned protest. In March 2011, a Shiite
parliamentarian requested to “grill” the Foreign Minister about Kuwait’s sending of naval forces
to support Bahrain’s Sunni minority government. To head off the questioning, the cabinet
resigned, and Prime Minister Nasser formed a new cabinet on May 8, 2011 (the seventh cabinet
formed by Shaykh Nasser after he became Prime Minister).
The government came under renewed popular pressure in September 2011 following reports that
two of Kuwait’s largest banks had deposited $92 million into the accounts of several
parliamentarians—implying that the government had bought the loyalty of the parliamentarians.
Thousands of Kuwait protesters took to the streets on September 21-23, 2011, to call for the
resignation of the Prime Minister. Possibly as a direct response to the allegations, on September
25, 2011, the cabinet adopted an anti-corruption draft law.
On November 16, 2011, oppositionists in and outside the Assembly, including the Fifth Fence,
forced their way into the Assembly building, demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation. On
November 28, 2011, he did so, and the Amir subsequently replaced him with another royal family
member, then-Defense Minister Shaykh Jabir al-Mubarak Al Sabah. He was sworn in, but without
first naming a new cabinet, on December 4, 2011. Two days later, on December 6, 2011, he
recommended—and Amir Sabah concurred—dissolution of the National Assembly and new
elections. New Assembly elections were set for February 2, 2012 (within the constitutionally
mandated 60 days).
• February 2, 2012, Election. In the run up to the vote, 20 opposition deputies
announced they would compete as one “Opposition Bloc.” Youth leaders
announced they would back opposition deputies who would push for a fully
elected government in which the prime minister is selected by the Assembly;
legalization of political parties; and election law changes. As shown in Table 1
below, those opposing the government, both liberal and Islamist, won at least 32
of the 50 seats. None of the 19 women who ran was elected. Turnout was about
62%. A leading opposition figure, Ahmad al-Sadun, a previous speaker (1985-
1999), returned to that post, replacing the pro-government Jassim Al-Khurafi.
After the election, Prime Minister Jabir was reappointed, but, in defiance of
opposition demands, he appointed only a small number of oppositionists (four) to
the cabinet. On June 18, 2012, with the Assembly insisting on “grilling” the
Interior Minister, the Amir exercised his authority under Article 106 of the

2 “Kuwait’s Prime Minister Survives Parliament Vote.” Al Jazeera TV, January 5, 2011; Kristin Smith Diwan, “Kuwait:
Too Much Politics, or Not Enough?,” Foreign Policy online, January 10, 2011.
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constitution to suspend the Assembly for one month. (The temporary suspension
was renewable for another two months, with the concurrence of the Assembly.)
• December 1, 2012 (Second Election in 2012), Triggered by Court Decision. On
June 20, 2012, Kuwait’s constitutional court voided the December 2011
Assembly suspension on the grounds that a new cabinet had not been sworn in
before the Amir’s suspension was ordered. The court reinstated the May 2009
Assembly, but the reinstated deputies did not convene. On October 8, 2012, after
the constitutional court ruled against the government’s request to revise the
number of election districts, the Amir disbanded the National Assembly and set
new elections for December 1, 2012. He simultaneously issued a decree altering
the election law to allow voters in each district to vote for only one candidate
(rather than four per district). The opposition called the decree an effort to
complicate opposition efforts to forge alliances in each district. On October 21,
2012, an unprecedented demonstration of an estimated 50,000-150,000 Kuwaitis
was held; security forces injured some and arrested several parliamentarians and
even some younger members of the Sabah family who were demonstrating. On
November 2, 2012, the government announced it would enforce an October 2012
ban on gatherings of over 20 persons.
The government went forward with the December 1, 2012, vote, under the
Amir’s decreed election rules. Turnout was about 40%. Because the opposition
boycotted, the election produced an overwhelmingly “pro-government”
Assembly on the strength of the seventeen pro-government Shiites elected—
including five Islamist Shiites. This was double the number of Shiites elected to
any prior Assembly. Three women were elected. Some Sunni Islamists were
elected, but—with the exception of two in the Salafi grouping—they were
generally not affiliated with Sunni Islamist political societies that have been in
the Assembly for decades. On December 5, 2012, the Amir asked Prime Minister
Shaykh Jabir Mubarak to form a new cabinet.
• July 27, 2013: Another Court-Triggered Election. Even though the December 1,
2012 election was held, the Amir’s election decree remained under opposition
legal challenge. On June 16, 2013, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Amir’s
decree that each person would vote for only one candidate per district was
constitutional, but the court dissolved the Assembly on the basis of improper
technicalities in the Amir’s election decree. The government subsequently set
new elections (the sixth election in five years) for July 27, 2013.
A total of 418 candidates registered, of which eight were women. The turnout
was just over 50%. Because some opposition societies boycotted, the vote
produced a decidedly pro-government Assembly. The Muslim Brotherhood
opposition was absent and only a few Salafi Islamists were elected. Pro-
government deputies in the Assembly included a broad range of groups and
reflected successful government outreach to the tribalists, and co-optation of
many liberals. Shiite deputies number eight—close to the long-term average
number in the Assembly. The National Assembly speaker is Marzuq al-Ghanim,
the nephew of former speaker al-Khurafi.
A cabinet was named on August 4, 2013, with Shaykh Jabir continuing as Prime
Minister. Among significant changes, Shaykh Khalid al-Hamad Al Sabah was
promoted to first deputy prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. A former
head of domestic intelligence (National Security Bureau), Shaykh Mohammad
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Khalid Al Sabah, was made Minister of Interior. Lieutenant General Khalid Al
Jarrah Al Sabah, formerly chief of staff of the Kuwaiti army, entered the
government as Minister of Defense. The cabinet at first included two females
(former elected parliamentarian Rola Dashti as Minister of State for Planning and
for National Assembly Affairs and Thikra al-Rashidi as Minister of Social Affairs
and Labor). However, on January 7, 2014, possibly to garner support from
Islamists in Kuwait, the Prime Minister reduced the number of females in the
cabinet to one (Hind al-Sabih). He replaced a member of the ruling family as
Finance Minister with Anas al-Salih, who is well known to the business
community, and replaced the Minister of Oil with Ali al-Umair, a Salafist
parliamentarian (one of two parliamentarians in the cabinet). He reduced the
number of Shiite cabinet members to one—Yasser Abul as Minister of Housing.
The reshuffle brought the total Islamists in the cabinet to four, from two—but all
are from the Salafist faction and not the Muslim Brotherhood.
Since the last election, there have been few major public demonstrations and opposition demands
remain confined to a call for a constitutional monarchy in which the elected parliament selects the
cabinet. However, some unrest has occurred in connection with opposition calls for the release
from jail of opposition leader/former parliamentarian Musallam al-Barrak, who has been
repeatedly arrested, sentenced, and freed on bail for allegedly “insulting the Amir” – stemming
from his rally opposing the Amir’s 2012 election decree providing for voting for only one
candidate per district.
Table 1. Composition of the National Assembly: 2008–2013
Post
Post-2008
Post-Feb. 2012
December
Post July
Ideology/Affiliation
Election Post-2009
Vote Vote
2012 Vote
2103 Vote
Sunni Islamist (Muslim Brotherhood
24 14 23 4
3

and Salafi, including tribalists.
general y opposes the government)
(all Salafi, no
Muslim
Brotherhood)
Liberals (general y opposition)
7
8
5
1
9
Popular Action Bloc (generally
0 2 4 0
0
opposition)
Shi te (general y pro-government)
5
9
7
17
8
Sunni Independents (includes
14 17 11 28
30
tribalists, pro-business deputies and
women). General y pro-government
Women (general y pro-government)
0 4 0 3
2
Included in categories above
Source: CRS, based on articles and analysis from various observers.
Note: Some members of the National Assembly might span several different categories and several sources
often disagree on precise categorizations of the members of the Assembly.
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U.S. Responses and Implications for U.S. Interests
Despite the government’s use of security forces to end protests and its arrests of critics, there has
been no evident alteration of the U.S.-Kuwait relationship. On October 23, 2012—following the
large protest discussed above—the State Department said the United States “call[s] on all sides to
exercise restraint,” and criticized the government’s ban on large public gatherings. The official
statements following President Obama’s meeting with Amir Sabah at the White House on
September 13, 2013, did not indicate that the political situation in Kuwait was discussed in
depth.3
U.S. democracy programs in Kuwait continue. These programs, funded from the Middle East
Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and other U.S. assistance accounts, included discussions with
Kuwaiti leaders, public diplomacy, building civil society, enhancing the capabilities of
independent Kuwaiti media, promoting women’s rights, and providing a broad spectrum of
educational opportunities.
Broader Human Rights Issues4
On broader human rights issues, the latest State Department Country Report on Human Rights
Practices for 2013, released February 27, 2014, largely reiterated the criticisms of previous
reports. It identifies the key human rights issues as limitations on citizens’ rights to change their
government, restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly, limitations on workers’ rights, and
trafficking in persons within the foreign worker population. There has been broad criticism of
Kuwait’s recent practice of revoking citizenship of perceived critics. In May 2011, Kuwait took
over Syria’s bid for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Women’s Rights
Women enjoy substantial rights in Kuwait. They are able to run for the National Assembly and
vote, and serve at all levels of Kuwait’s government, including as public prosecutors. Women in
Kuwait can drive, unlike their counterparts in neighboring Saudi Arabia, and many women own
businesses. There are several nongovernmental organizations run by Kuwaiti women, such as the
Kuwait Women’s Cultural and Social Society, that are dedicated to improving rights for women
and to agitating on several different issues unrelated to gender.
Still, Kuwait remains a traditional society and Islamists who want to limit women’s rights have
substantial influence. The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, although courts
try such cases as assault. Kuwaiti women who marry non-Kuwaiti men cannot give their spouses
or children Kuwaiti citizenship. Numerous international reports assert that violence, particularly
against expatriate women working in domestic service roles, is frequent. Some expatriate women
have also been subjected to nonpayment of wages and withholding of passports.5

3 http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/09/13/remarks-president-obama-and-amir-sabah-al-sabah-kuwait-
after-bilateral-m.
4 Much of this section is from the State Department’s country report on human rights practices for 2013 (released
February 27, 2014), http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm#wrapper, and the Human Rights
Watch World Report for 2014. Released January 2014.
5 Fahim, Kareem. “Away From Home, Fleeing Domestic Life.” New York Times, August 2, 2010.
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Trafficking in Persons
Kuwait was, for the seventh year in a row, designated by the State Department’s Trafficking in
Persons report for 2014 (issued July 2014, cited earlier) in “Tier Three” (worst level). The
designation has been maintained because, according to the 2014 report, Kuwait was “not making
sufficient efforts” to comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Kuwait
adopted an anti-trafficking law in March 2013, but it has not demonstrated significant efforts to
prosecute and convict trafficking offenders and there is no lead national anti-trafficking
coordinating body.
Status of “Stateless Persons“ (Bidoons)
Non-Gulf Arabs and Asians, and about 100,000-140,000 stateless residents (known as
“bidoons”—the Arabic word for “without”) continue to face discrimination. The government
asserts that the bidoons deliberately destroyed evidence of another nationality in order to obtain
generous social benefits in Kuwait. Despite that suspicion, in October 2010 the government
promised to implement a plan to resolve the legal and economic status of the bidoons. In March
2011, the government set up a “Central System for Remedying the Status of Illegal Residents,”
with a mandate to resolve the status of the bidoons within five years. A separate decree approved
provision of some government services and subsidies to bidoons.
During 2011-2014, the government has granted citizenship to several hundred bidoons each year.
In March 2013, security forces used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse bidoons demonstrating
for greater rights. That demonstrating might have sparked one bill that was enacted by the
National Assembly on March 20, 2013, giving about 4,000 “bidoons” (stateless residents,
discussed below) citizenship. In November 2014, the government announced a plan to obtain for
tens of thousands of bidoons “economic citizenship in the Union of the Comoros.” The bidoons
would be allowed to remain physically in Kuwait, but would not get Kuwaiti citizenship; human
rights groups called the plan far from an acceptable solution to the bidoon issue.
Freedom of Expression and Media Freedoms
Official press censorship ended in 1992, fostering the growth of a vibrant press, but successive
State Department human rights reports have asserted that the government does not always respect
constitutional provisions for freedom of speech and the press. By law, newspaper publishers must
be licensed by the Ministry of Information.
A trend that has attracted substantial criticism not only of Kuwait but of other GCC states is the
increasing use of existing and new laws to act against opponents—including revoking their
citizenship—who use newspapers and social media to criticize the government and mobilize
demonstrations. Kuwait’s penal code (Article 25) provides for up to five years in jail for
“objecting to the rights and authorities of the Amir or faulting him”—wording that sometimes
takes varying forms in charging documents and other official announcements. The Constitutional
Court rejected a challenged to Article 25 in December 2013. In 2013, cases were brought against
at least 29 Kuwaitis who allegedly criticized the Amir or the government on social media
platforms. Five persons charged with “faulting the Amir” were acquitted in February 2013, but in
July 2013 an appeals court overturned the conviction of three former Assembly deputies on that
charge. In 2014, the government revoked the citizenship of 33 people for criticizing the
government on social media and through other media outlets. One whose citizenship was revoked
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is Ahmad Jabir al-Shammari, owner of Alam al-Yawm newspaper, discussed above, and a
television station. Others whose citizenship have been revoked on similar grounds include an
Islamist former member of the National Assembly, Abdullah al-Barghash, and Saad al-Ajmi, an
opposition spokesman.
The government also has sought to silence media that expose internal discussions among the
royal family. On April 20, 2014, a judge ordered two newspapers (Al Watan and Alam al Yawm)
closed for two weeks for disobeying a court-ordered news blackout on a videotape purporting to
show former senior officials plotting to try to remove the Amir from office.6 In June 2014, the
government ordered the same two papers to stop publishing for five days over the same issue.
Labor Rights
The law protects the right of workers to form and join unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain
collectively, but contains significant restrictions. The government allows one trade union per
occupation, but the only legal trade federation is the Kuwait Trade Union Federation (KTUF).
Foreign workers, with the exception of domestic workers, are allowed to join unions, and the
government has tended not to impede strikes. On October 10, 2011, about 3,000 customs officers
went on strike demanding higher wages and better working conditions; the action caused a
temporary halt to Kuwaiti oil exports. On October 26, 2011, the government criticized the strikes
as “tantamount to attacks on the state’s status, sovereignty, its interests, and its citizens,” and
“cannot be tolerated.” In early 2012, strikes briefly grounded state-owned Kuwait Airways, and
there have been occasional small strikes since.
Religious Freedom
The State Department religious freedom report for 2013 (released June 19, 2014), cited earlier,
did not alter its assessment of the government’s respect for religious freedom from that of
previous years. Shiite Muslims (about 30% of Kuwait’s population) continue to report official
discrimination, including limited access to religious education and the perceived government
unwillingness to permit the building of new Shiite mosques. Of Kuwait’s Shiite population, about
half are Arab Shiites, some of whom are originally from the eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia,
and half are of Persian origin. Unlike in Bahrain, Shiites are well represented in the police force
and the military/security apparatus, although they generally are not offered leadership positions in
those institutions. In 2012, the Kuwaiti ministry that oversees houses of worship began
monitoring Shiite mourning houses known as Husseiniyas, but it also began providing state funds
to Shiite mosques, as it does for Sunni mosques. In June 2012, the Amir refused to sign (vetoed) a
National Assembly bill stipulating the death penalty for those who curse the major figures and
symbols of Islam, including the Quran.
Kuwait has seven officially recognized Christian churches to serve the approximately 450,000
Christians (mostly foreign residents) in Kuwait. However, Islamists in the National Assembly
have sometimes sought to prevent the building of new churches in Kuwait.7 Members of religions
not sanctioned in the Quran—including about 400 Baha’i’s, 100,000 Buddhists, 600,000 Hindus,

6 “Kuwait Papers Closed for Violating “Plot” Blackout.” BBC News, April 20, 2014.
7 Middle East Media Research Institute. “In Kuwait, Public Debate Over Demand to Demolish Churches,” April 10,
2012.
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and 10,000 Sikhs—are mostly non-citizens working in Kuwait and have not been allowed to
operate official places of worship. They have been permitted to worship in their homes. There are
a few hundred Christians and some Baha’i’s among the citizenry.
U.S.-Kuwait Relations and Defense Cooperation
Kuwait was not strategically or politically close to the United States until the Iran-Iraq War
(1980-1988), when Kuwait became a pivotal partner of the United States in order to secure itself
from Iran. Since 1991, the cornerstone of the U.S.-Kuwait defense relationship has been a broad
Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) signed seven months after Iraq’s defeat in the 1991
Persian Gulf war. The pact was signed on September 19, 1991, for an initial 10-year period, but
remains in effect.8 The text is classified, but reportedly provides for mutual discussions in the
event of a crisis; joint military exercises; U.S. evaluation of, advice to, and training of Kuwaiti
forces; U.S. arms sales; prepositioning of U.S. military equipment; and U.S. access to a range of
Kuwaiti facilities.9
These facilities used by the United States military under the DCA reportedly include Ali al-Salem
Air Base; Shaykh Jabir Air Base; the main U.S. headquarters in Kuwait at Camp Arifjan (40 miles
south of Kuwait City); a desert training base and firing range called Camp Buehring, far out in the
desert, near the border with Saudi Arabia; and a naval facility called Camp Patriot. Under the
DCA, enough U.S. armor to outfit at least one brigade is pre-positioned in at Camp Arifjan; the
equipment pre-positioned there was used for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and returned after the U.S.
mission in Iraq ended. (In December 2005, U.S. forces vacated Camp Doha, the headquarters for
U.S. forces in Kuwait during the 1990s and former site for pre-positioned tanks.) The DCA
includes a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that provides that U.S. forces in Kuwait be subject
to U.S. rather than Kuwaiti law—a common feature of such arrangements.
Kuwait is also cooperating with U.S. efforts to improve the defense capabilities of and
coordination among the GCC states as a whole. As noted below, Kuwait has purchased missile
defense equipment that supports U.S. efforts to forge a joint GCC missile defense network for the
Gulf. Kuwaiti naval forces participate in U.S.-led mine clearing exercises in the Persian Gulf—
exercises apparently intended to signal to Iran the strength of a U.S.-led coalition to contain Iran.
Kuwait is also cooperating with Saudi-led GCC states efforts to promote greater military
coordination and joint action, including forming a GCC joint military command. This trend
apparently reflects a growing view among some of the GCC leaders that the Obama
Administration might be reluctant to use force or threaten force in the event of another crisis in
the Gulf, including against Iran, with which the United States is negotiating a comprehensive
nuclear agreement. In part to reassure the GCC states of the U.S. commitment to Gulf security,
the Amir and the leaders of the other GCC countries will attend a summit meeting at the White
House and at Camp David, at the invitation of President Obama, on May 13-14, 2015. The GCC
states’ apparent concerns were also reflected in an April 2014 GCC decision to recruit additional
manpower from Jordan and Morocco, and a separate Kuwaiti decision in April 2014 to set up an

8 http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/09/13/remarks-president-obama-and-amir-sabah-al-sabah-kuwait-
after-bilateral-m.
9 Hajjar, Sami. U.S. Military Presence in the Gulf: Challenges and Prospects. U.S. Army War College, Strategic
Studies Institute. p. 27.
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office in Pakistan to recruit Pakistani trainers for Kuwait soldiers.10 The GCC-led military action
in Yemen, discussed below, also appears to reflect a new GCC willingness to undertake military
action in the region even if such action is not led by the United States.
Still, the GCC decision, announced at GCC summits in December of 2013 and 2014, is consistent
with Obama Administration efforts to augment Gulf security by forging greater coordination and
interoperability of equipment among the GCC states. That U.S. policy was supported by
December 16, 2013, Presidential Determination authorizing U.S. defense sales to the GCC as a
whole.
Kuwait also has sought cooperation with other U.S. partners. It was reported in December 2011
that NATO discussed with Kuwait opening a center in Kuwait City as part of the “Istanbul
Cooperation Initiative (ICI)” initiated in 2004. Kuwait joined the ICI in December 2004. The
NATO center in Kuwait did not open, in part because the ICI has languished as NATO member
states face significant financial constraints.
A U.S. consulate opened in Kuwait in October 1951 and was elevated to an embassy upon
Kuwait’s independence from Britain in 1961. Kuwait was the first Gulf state to establish relations
with the Soviet Union in the 1960s, perhaps reflecting the influence on Kuwaiti politics of many
relatively left-wing figures who were attracted to the ideologies of Gamal Abd al-Nasser of Egypt
and his patron, the Soviet Union. The current U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait is Douglas Silliman.
Defense Cooperation: 1987-2011
Under the DCA, Kuwaiti facilities have hosted U.S. operations in the region. Kuwait did not
contribute any of its own forces to the U.S.-led stabilization operations in post-Taliban
Afghanistan, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, or in post-Saddam Iraq itself.
Iran-Iraq War. During the Iran-Iraq War, Iran had sought to compel Kuwait to end its financial
and logistical support for Iraq by striking with Silkworm missiles some Kuwaiti oil facilities,
including the Al Ahmadi terminal. In 1987-1988, the United States established a U.S. naval escort
and tanker reflagging program to protect Kuwaiti and international shipping from Iranian naval
attacks (Operation Earnest Will). As part of the skirmishes between the United States and Iran in
the course of that operation, Iran attacked a Kuwaiti oil installation (Sea Island terminal).
Operation Desert Storm. Asserting that Saddam Hussein would reward Kuwait for assisting Iraq
during the Iran-Iraq War, Kuwait’s leaders were shaken by the August 2, 1990, Iraqi invasion.
Iraq asserted that it needed to invade because Kuwait was overproducing oil and thereby harming
Iraq’s ability to repay its debts and recover economically from the war with Iran. However, most
experts believe that the invasion was a result of Saddam’s intent to dominate the Persian Gulf.
Iraq’s occupation lasted until U.S.-led coalition forces of nearly 500,000 expelled Iraqi forces
from Kuwait in “Operation Desert Storm” (January 16, 1991-February 28, 1991). Kuwait’s
leaders, who spent the occupation period in Saudi Arabia, were restored to power. Kuwait
contributed financially to the 1991 war—it paid $16.059 billion to offset the U.S. incremental
costs of Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

10 Middle East Media Research Institute. April 22, 2014.
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Iraq Containment Operations During the 1990s. After the 1991 war, U.S. forces used Kuwaiti
facilities to conduct containment operations, including the 1992-2003 enforcement of a “no fly
zone” over southern Iraq (Operation Southern Watch). This operation involved 1,000 U.S. Air
Force personnel in Kuwait, mostly at Kuwait air bases. The United States also prepositioned
armor in Kuwait (under the 1991 Defense Cooperation Agreement, DCA, discussed below), and
there were generally about 4,000 or more U.S. troops stationed in Kuwait at any given time.
Kuwait contributed about $200 million per year for U.S. military costs of these containment
operations, according to U.S. observers.11 Kuwait also funded two-thirds of the $51 million per
year U.N. budget for the 1991-2003 Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) that monitored
the Iraq-Kuwait border. (Kuwait also allowed U.S. forces participating in the major combat
phases of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan to transit Kuwait.)
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Post-Saddam Iraq. Because Saddam Hussein had invaded
Kuwait, Kuwait enthusiastically supported the George W. Bush Administration’s decision to
militarily overthrow Saddam Hussein (Operation Iraqi Freedom [OIF]). It hosted the vast bulk of
the U.S. invasion force of about 250,000 forces, as well as the other coalition troops that entered
Iraq in March 2003. To secure that force, Kuwait closed off its entire northern half for weeks
before the invasion. It also allowed U.S. use of two air bases, its international airport, and sea
ports; and provided $266 million in burden sharing support to the combat, including base support,
personnel support, and supplies such as food and fuel.
After Saddam was overthrown, Kuwait built political ties to the dominant, mostly Shiite, factions
in Iraq in order to ensure there would be no repeat of the 1990 Iraqi invasion or of any Iraqi
Shiite-led violence such as that which occurred in the 1980s. On July 18, 2008, Kuwait named its
first ambassador to Iraq since the 1990 Iraqi invasion—Ali al Momen, a retired general and a
Shiite Muslim. On January 12, 2011, then Prime Minister Nasser became the first Kuwait Prime
Minister to visit Iraq since the 1990 invasion – a visit occurred a few days after Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki said that Iraq’s former ambitions against Kuwait “have gone forever and
will never return again.”12 Maliki made his first visit to Kuwait on February 16, 2011, and a
March 2012 Maliki visit to Kuwait paved the way for Amir Sabah’s attendance at the March 27-
29, 2012, Arab League summit in Baghdad. Iraq considered that summit crucial to its efforts to
return to the Arab fold after decades of isolation.
As part of its outreach to post-Saddam Iraq, Kuwait built a water line into Iraq and it ran a
humanitarian operation center (HOC) that gave over $550 million in assistance to Iraqis from
2003-2011. A Kuwaiti company, First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting, was lead
contractor on the large U.S. embassy in Iraq that opened in January 2009. On April 22, 2008,
Kuwait hosted a regional conference on Iraq’s stability, which included the United States, Iran,
and other neighboring countries.
According to Defense Department budget documents, Kuwait contributed about $210 million per
year in similar in-kind support to help defray the costs incurred by the U.S. military personnel
that rotated through Kuwait into or out of Iraq for operations in Iraq during 2003-2011. In
FY2012, Kuwait contributed $350 million for these purposes, as stipulated in the FY2012
Consolidated Appropriation (P.L. 112-74). During 2003-2011, there were an average of 25,000
U.S. troops based in Kuwaiti facilities, not including those rotating into Iraq at a given time.

11 Author conversation with U.S. military official in the Kuwait. February 2014.
12 “No Claim on Sovereign Kuwait, Iraqi Ambitions Gone Forever.” Arab Times (Kuwait). January 9, 2011.
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Cooperation Post-U.S. Withdrawal from Iraq in 2011
Kuwait served as the key exit route for U.S. troops as they withdrew from Iraq. The United States
and Iraq had discussed retaining 3,000-15,000 U.S. troops in Iraq beyond 2011 to continue
training Iraqi forces, but Iraq and the United States were unable to agree on a legal status
framework for retaining U.S. troops, and the last U.S. troops left Iraq on December 18, 2011.
There reportedly was discussion within the Administration that, because no U.S. troops were
remaining in Iraq after 2011, the United States might build up forces in Kuwait to potentially be
able to intervene in Iraq or to confront Iran.13 Following the withdrawal the numbers of U.S.
forces in Kuwait were not increased substantially, although the mix of forces was altered. Then
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta noted, in a trip to Kuwait in December 2012, that there were
about 13,500 U.S. troops in Kuwait,14 and U.S. force levels in Kuwait have remained at that level
since. This U.S. force level is higher than that positioned in Kuwait during the Iraq containment
period of the 1990s, and constitutes more than a third of the 35,000 total U.S. forces in the Gulf.
However, the force in Kuwait includes some Army combat troops, not purely support forces, as
was the case prior to 2011.15
Hosting Coalition Operations Against the Islamic State Organization
Kuwaiti leaders assert that the Islamist extremist organization Islamic State represents a threat to
regional stability. The organization has posed a threat to the government and territorial integrity
of Iraq, with which Kuwait has taken significant steps to overcome the legacy of the Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
At a U.S.-GCC meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on September 11, 2014, Kuwait formally joined
the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State. Unlike Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, and Qatar,
Kuwait has not flown air strike or air support missions against Islamic State forces in Syria.
However, it has placed its military facilities at the disposal of the U.S.-led coalition, including
allowing Canada and Italy to base reconnaissance and combat aircraft in Kuwait for their
participation in the mission called “Operation Inherent Resolve.” 16Kuwait hosts the headquarters
of “ARCENT”—the U.S. Army component of U.S. Central Command, and ARCENT
commander, Lieutenant General James Terry, is overall U.S. commander of Inherent Resolve. On
February 23, 2015, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, on his first visit to the region after being
sworn in, held a meeting at ARCENT headquarters in Kuwait with the U.S. combatant
commanders (for the Middle East, Africa, and Europe) participating in Inherent Resolve. The
meeting was announced as intended to enable Secretary Carter to take stock of the campaign
against the Islamic State to that time.

13 http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_iraq1201_09_26.asp; Thom Shanker and Steven Lee
Myers. “U.S. Is Planning Buildup in Gulf After Iraq Exit.” New York Times, October 30, 2011; Pauline Jelinek,
“Kuwait, U.S. Still Talking About Troop Plan.” Associated Press, November 7, 2011.
14 Thom Shanker. “In Kuwait, Panetta Affirms U.S. Commitment to Middle East. New York Times, December 11,
2012.
15 Michelle Tan. “15,000 in Kuwait, At Least For Now.” Army Times, January 16, 2012.
16 “Kuwait Plays Uneasy Host as Canadian Jets Join Anti-ISIS Campaign.” Canada Television News, October 29,
2014.
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Aside from hosting coalition forces fighting the Islamic State, Kuwait has been at the forefront,
among the Gulf states, in attempting to help the civilian victims of the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
Kuwait has hosted three major donors’ conferences (January 30, 2013, January 15, 2014, and
March 31, 2015) at which Kuwait has pledged a total of over $1 billion in humanitarian aid. The
Kuwaiti donations were composed mostly of donations to nine U.N. agencies and to the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Of the Kuwaiti government’s pledges, about
10% is channeled through Kuwaiti agencies such as the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic
Development and the Kuwait Red Crescent Society.
U.S. Security Assistance
The United States continues to bolster Kuwait’s defense capabilities to promote interoperability
with U.S. forces should a regional contingency arise. U.S. officials say that the U.S.-Kuwait
defense relationship, enhanced in recent years by small amounts of U.S. assistance shown in
Table 2 below, has improved the quality of the Kuwaiti military, particularly the Air Force.
Kuwait receives very small amounts of U.S. assistance, if any, because of its ability to fund its
own security requirements. Kuwait has been mainly a donor to U.S. operations rather than a
recipient of U.S. funds. As a result of Kuwaiti recruitment efforts, its military has now nearly
regained its pre-Iraq invasion strength of 17,000. In 2008, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)
established in Kuwait a permanent platform for “full spectrum operations” in 27 countries in the
region—among its objectives has been to help Kuwait establish a more capable navy.
Recognizing Kuwait’s consistent and multi-faceted cooperation with the United States, on April
1, 2004, the Bush Administration designated Kuwait as a “major non-NATO ally (MNNA),” a
designation held by only one other Gulf state (Bahrain). The designation opens Kuwait to buy the
same U.S. equipment that is sold to U.S. allies in NATO.
Major U.S. Arms Sales to Kuwait
U.S. arms sales have sought to enhance Kuwait’s capability. U.S. sales to Kuwait are intended to
comport with the overall U.S. goals of containing Iran by enhancing the individual and joint
capabilities of the Gulf states. Kuwait is not eligible to receive U.S. excess defense articles. Major
post-1991 Foreign Military Sales (FMS) include:
• Patriot Missile Defense System: In 1992, Kuwait bought five Patriot anti-missile
fire units, including 25 launchers and 210 Patriot missiles, valued at about $800
million. Delivery was completed by 1998. Some of them were used to intercept
Iraqi short-range missiles launched at Kuwait in the 2003 war. In 2007, Kuwait
also bought 80 PAC-3 (Patriot) missiles and 60 PAC-2 missiles and upgrades,
valued at about $1.3 billion. In August 2010, the Administration notified
Congress of the potential sale to Kuwait of 209 Patriot “Guidance Enhanced
Missile-T” (GEM-T) missiles valued at $900 million. The prime contractor for
that system is Raytheon. On July 20, 2012, the Administration notified a potential
sale of 60 Patriot Advanced Capability (“PAC-3”) missiles and 20 Patriot
launching stations, plus associated equipment. The total value of the sale could
reach $4.2 billion. On December 31, 2013, DOD said Lockheed Martin would
deliver 14 of the missiles and seven launcher modification kits by June 30, 2016.
Kuwait has not announced whether it might buy the more sophisticated missile
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defense system called the Theater High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system
that the United States has sold to UAE and Qatar.
• Combat Aircraft. The core of Kuwait’s fleet of combat aircraft is 40 FA-18
combat aircraft Kuwait bought in 1992. On December 4, 2013, DSCA notified a
possible sale to Kuwait of technical support to its U.S.-made F-18s for an
estimated cost of about $150 million. Kuwait is said to be considering adding
more FA-18 aircraft, although it is evaluating and might instead order the Rafale
or the Typhoon, both of which are made by European firms.
• Tanks. In 1993, Kuwait bought 218 M1A2 tanks at a value of $1.9 billion.
Delivery was completed in 1998.
• Apache Helicopters. In September 2002, Kuwait ordered 16 AH-64 (Apache)
helicopters equipped with the Longbow fire-control system, valued at about $940
million.
• Air-to-Air Missiles. In 2008, Kuwait bought 120 AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium
Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), along with equipment and services, with
a total value of $178 million. On February 27, 2012, the Administration notified
Congress of a potential sale of 80 AIM-9X-2 SIDEWINDER missiles, and
associated parts and support, with an estimated value of $105 million. The sale, if
completed, would help Kuwait modernize its fighter aircraft and enhance
interoperability with U.S. aircraft.
• DSCA announced on June 30, 2014, that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
would build a Kuwait Armed Forces Hospital in Kuwait at a cost to Kuwait of
$1.7 billion.
It is not known whether specific additional U.S. arms sales to Kuwait will be discussed during the
U.S.-GCC summit to be held on May 13-14, 2015, in the United States.
Table 2. U.S. Aid to Kuwait and Purposes
(dollars in thousands)
FY06
FY07
FY08
FY09
FY10

International
- 19 14 0
10
Military Training
and Education
(IMET).
Non-Proliferation,
628 1,025 0
0
0
Anti-Terrorism,
De-Mining and
Related (NADR).
International Military Education and Training (IMET)
As noted in Table 2 below, in recent years Kuwait has received very small amounts of funding
under the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program. That funding has been
provided primarily to qualify Kuwait for a discount in the rate it pays for Kuwait-funded trainees
to participate in U.S. programs. Kuwaiti military students in the United States study intelligence,
pilot training, and other disciplines. In FY2010, Kuwait spent about $9.7 million to provide such
education for 216 Kuwaiti military students. There has been no U.S. assistance to Kuwait since.
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Other Foreign Policy Issues
After the United States, Kuwait’s most important alliance is with the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC), which also consists of fellow Gulf monarchies Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and
Oman. In May 2012, Saudi Arabia proposed a close political union among the GCC states—a
proposal opposed by several GCC states, including Kuwait, and not adopted. Kuwait has a much
longer and more extensive experience with elections and parliamentary process than does Saudi
Arabia or the other GCC states, and most Kuwaitis are perceived as fearful of jeopardizing their
political tradition.
Many of the issues discussed below are similar to those that all the GCC states face. With the few
exceptions discussed below, the GCC often jointly—and sometimes after resolving key
differences among the six GCC countries—formulates and implements regional policy
Residual Bilateral Issues With Iraq
Kuwait departs somewhat from the other GCC states in its relations with post-Saddam Iraq, in
large part because of the legacy of the 1990 Iraqi invasion. Some residual issues from the
invasion remain unresolved, although relations between Kuwait and the Iraqi government have
become relatively warm. In August 2012, the Iraqi government said “Iraq will end all pending
issues with Kuwait before the start of [2013].” The Iraqi statement appeared to be an Iraqi effort
to garner support for the U.N. Security Council to remove any remaining “Chapter 7” (of the
U.N. Charter) mandates on Iraq stemming from the invasion. Kuwait’s Prime Minister Jaber
visited Iraq on June 12, 2013, and reached agreement on taking some of the bilateral issues
involving missing Kuwaitis and Kuwaiti property out of the Chapter 7 supervision of the United
Nations and replacing them with alternative mechanisms, as discussed below.
Reparations Payments Continue. Kuwait has not dropped its insistence on full U.N.-supervised
reparations by Iraq for damages caused from the 1990 invasion. Iraq wants the reparations issue
closed out to cease the deduction of 5% of all its revenue that is used to pay compensation to the
victims of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The U.N. Compensation Commission (UNCC) created by
the post-Desert Storm U.N. resolutions, will have paid out about $52 billion awarded to over 100
governments and 1.5 million individual claimants by the time it ends in April 2015. As of October
2014, the process had paid $48 billion of that amount, leaving only about $4 billion remaining to
be paid. On December 15, 2010, the U.N. Security Council passed three resolutions—1956, 1957,
and 1958—that ended Saddam-era sanctions against Iraq, but the resolutions did not fully end the
“Chapter 7” U.N. mandate on Iraq and continued the 5% automatic revenue deductions.
Missing Kuwaitis and Kuwaiti National Archives. The U.N. resolutions adopted December 15,
2010, also continued the effort, required under post-1991 war U.N. resolutions (most notably
687), to resolve the fate of the 605 Kuwaitis and third party nationals missing and presumed dead
from the 1991 war, as well as that of the missing Kuwaiti national archives. A special U.N. envoy,
Gennady Tarasov, was U.N. High-Level Coordinator for these issues. In September 2011 and in
June 2012, Iraq called for an end to the mandate of Tarasov and for Iraq and Kuwait to pursue the
issue bilaterally. Tarasov retired on December 31, 2012, and the U.N. Secretary General
appointed Victor Poliakov to assume Tarasov’s duties. The June 16, 2013, visit of the Kuwaiti
Prime Minister to Iraq—which followed progress on border demarcations issues discussed
below—resulted in an Iraq-Kuwait joint recommendation to remove these issues of missing
property and persons from the Chapter 7 U.N. mandate, a recommendation that was endorsed in
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the U.N. Secretary General’s report of June 17, 2013. U.N. Security Council Resolution 2107 of
June 27, 2013, formally abolished the High-Level Coordinator mandate and transferred the
continuing supervision of these issues to the U.N. Assistance Mission—Iraq (UNAMI)—under
Chapter VI of the U.N. Charter (which does not carry enforcement mechanisms as those adopted
under Chapter VII).
The search process has resulted in finding the remains of 236 Kuwaitis. The cases of 369
Kuwaitis remain unresolved. In 2010, Kuwait made a $1 million grant to the Iraqi Ministry of
Human Rights, which is the lead Iraqi agency trying to determine the fate of the Kuwaitis. A
Tripartite Commission on the issue (Kuwait, Iraq, International Committee of the Red Cross) met
on May 18, 2011, for the first time in many years. To date, more than 10,000 trenches have been
dug to search for remains and jailed members of the Saddam regime have been interviewed.
However, the December 14, 2012, and June 17, 2013, U.N. reports on these issues said no
progress has been made recently, although some excavations were undertaken in Iraq in 2013.
As far as the Kuwaiti National Archives, U.N. reports on December 14, 2012, and June 17, 2013,
say there has been no progress locating the archives. However, Annex I to the June 17, 2013,
report (U.N. document S/2013/357) contains a list of all the Kuwaiti property returned to Kuwait
by Iraq since 2002. In June 2012, Iraq returned to Kuwait numerous boxes of recovered tapes
from Kuwait’s state radio, books belonging to Kuwait University, and keys to Kuwait’s Central
Bank.
Kuwait-Iraq Border. Disputes over the Iraq-Kuwait border have also been mostly resolved. Under
post-1991 Gulf War U.N. Security Council Resolution 833, the Council accepted the U.N.-
demarcated border between them. Kuwait has sought that the post-Saddam government in Iraq
formally acknowledge its commitments under the resolution to pay some of the costs of border
markings and signs. In July 2010, Kuwait gave preliminary approval to open a special border
crossing into Iraq that would facilitate the work of international oil companies working in Iraq.
And, as a consequence of the March 15, 2012, Maliki visit to Kuwait, Iraq agreed to pay its
portion of the costs of maintaining the border markings and the issue of the sea border markings
and related issues was resolved in early 2013.
Other Outstanding Bilateral Disputes/Iraqi Airways. In 2004, Kuwait reportedly pledged to
forgive a substantial portion of the $25 billion Saddam era debt, but it has not written off the debt
to date. Another major dispute concerned Kuwait Airways’ lawsuits alleging that Iraq owed
Kuwait $1.2 billion for planes and parts stolen during the Iraqi invasion; the actions led to the
long-term impoundment of Iraqi Airways jets. The March 15, 2012, Maliki visit resolved the
issue with agreement for Iraq to pay Kuwait $300 million in compensation, and to invest $200
million in an Iraq-Kuwait joint venture to form a small new airline. Subsequent to the visit, Iraq-
Kuwait direct flights resumed. In November 2013, Kuwait’s national airline, Kuwait Airways,
made its first flight to Iraq (Najaf) since the 1990 Iraqi invasion.
Remaining Threat from Iraqi Extremist Groups. Kuwaiti leaders say they remain wary of pro-
Iranian Shiite extremist groups still operating, particularly in southern Iraq. The December 1983
bombings of the U.S. and French embassies in Kuwait and an attempted assassination of the Amir
in May 1985 were attributed to the Iran-inspired Iraqi Da’wa (Islamic Call) Party, composed of
Shiites. Seventeen Da’wa activists were arrested for those attacks, and Da’wa activists hijacked a
Kuwait Airlines plane in 1987. Da’wa is the party that Maliki and current Iraqi Prime Minister
Haydar Al Abbadi head, although the party no longer has a militia wing. In July 2011, the Iran-
supported militia of Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr rocketed Kuwait’s embassy in Iraq and caused
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Kuwait to temporarily recall its diplomats. Also that month, another Iraqi Shiite militia, Khata’ib
Hezbollah, threatened to attack workers building the Mubarak the Great port on Bubiyan Island.
Iran
Unlike the other GCC states Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, Kuwait has maintained
consistently positive relations with Iran. Kuwait’s Shiites are well integrated into politics and
society and there has been little opportunity for Iran to support any anti-Kuwait government
activities, even if Tehran sought to do so. After the 1990 Iraqi invasion, Kuwait supported Iran as
a counterweight to Saddam Hussein and often hosted pro-Iranian anti-Saddam Iraqi Shiite
oppositionists, even though these same Shiite groups had conducted attacks in Kuwait in the
1980s. In November 2009, the Amir publicly endorsed Iran’s right to purely peaceful nuclear
energy. Like the other Gulf states, Kuwait hosted visiting Iranian officials following the
November 2013 interim nuclear agreement between Iran and the six negotiating powers. But,
Amir Sabah went significantly further than the other GCC leaders by visiting Iran during June 1-
2, 2014. His visit included a meeting with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i, as
well as elected President Hassan Rouhani. As did the other Gulf countries, Kuwait cautiously
welcomed a framework nuclear accord between Iran and the six negotiating powers led by the
United States on April 2, 2015, while stating concerns that a nuclear deal will not curb Iran’s
efforts to expand its influence in the region. These concerns are to be a main topic of discussion at
a U.S.-GCC summit in the United States during May 13-14, 2015.
Kuwait has consistently enforced U.S. sanctions against Iran. After enactment in July 2010 of the
Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, CISADA) that
subjects to penalties firms that supply gasoline to Iran, a Kuwaiti gasoline trading firm, Kuwait’s
Independent Petroleum Group, stopped supplying gasoline to Iran.17 Kuwait’s cooperation with
the United States might also account for Kuwait’s decision, to date, to decline Iran’s offer to sell
Kuwait natural gas, delivered by way of Iraq. Kuwait’s enforcement of sanctions perhaps explains
why it has been the occasional target of some Iranian intelligence operations. In May 2010,
Kuwait arrested some Kuwaiti civil servants and stateless residents for allegedly working on
behalf of the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC-QF) of Iran—the
IRGC unit that supports pro-Iranian movements and conducts espionage in neighboring and other
foreign countries—in a purported plot to blow up Kuwaiti energy facilities.18 In March 2011, a
Kuwait court sentenced two Iranians and a Kuwaiti to death in the alleged plot, but the sentences
were later commuted to life in prison.
Actions on 2011 Uprisings and Instability in the Region
Kuwait has generally acted in concert with—although not always as assertively as—other GCC
states on regional issues such as those that have stemmed from post-2011 unrest in the region.
Bahrain. Of all the countries affected by “Arab spring” uprisings, Kuwait has the most direct
stake in the outcome in Bahrain, a GCC ally. Kuwait sent a naval unit to support the March 14,
2011, intervention of the GCC’s “Peninsula Shield” unit to assist Bahraini security forces. The

17 http://www.defenddemocracy.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11788115&Itemid=105.
18 “Iran Spy Cell Dismantled in Kuwait.” Associated Press, May 6, 2010; “Iran Cell Planned Attacks in Kuwait,
Minister Says. Reuters, April 21, 2011.
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nearly 2,000 GCC ground forces that entered Bahrain were Saudi troops and UAE police. The
Kuwaiti naval unit departed Bahraini waters in July 2011 following the end of the state of
emergency there. The United States criticized the GCC force deployment. Kuwait’s involvement
came despite opposition from Kuwaiti Shiites, who have sympathized with Bahrain’s Shiites.
Libya. Kuwait supported the Arab League position in favor of U.N.-mandated intervention to
protect civilians but, initially, it stopped short of recognizing the Transitional National Council
(TNC) as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people. Kuwait did not contribute any air or
other forces to the NATO coalition that conducted strikes in support of anti-Qadhafi rebels. It
recognized the TNC as the sole legitimate representative after the fall of Tripoli in August 2011.
Unlike the UAE and Qatar, Kuwait has not intervened militarily or politically in Libya since.
Yemen. Kuwait joined its GCC allies in developing and implementing a plan for a peaceful
transition of power in Yemen that led to the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in January
2012. However, Saleh’s successor Abdu Rabbu Mansour Al Hadi resigned in January 2015 under
pressure from Iran-backed Zaydi Shiite Houthi rebels who took over much of the capital, Sanaa,
and subsequently advanced on the second largest city of Aden. Even though Kuwait has generally
refrained from entering into “proxy wars” against Iran, Kuwait did join Saudi Arabia’s coalition
of ten Arab countries that began airstrikes against Houthi fighters in late March 2015. Kuwait
reportedly has contributed 15 fighter jets to the bombing campaign, although it is less active
militarily in this campaign than is Saudi Arabia or UAE.19 The stated intent of the military action
is to compel the Houthi rebels to enter into negotiations to restore the government of President
Hadi.
Syria. Like the other Gulf states, Kuwait asserts that Syrian President Bashar Al Asad’s policies
have built support for the Islamic State, and that the organization cannot be defeated with Asad
still in power. However, Kuwaiti officials say the government has not provided government funds
to any armed rebel groups fighting in Syria. As did the other Gulf states, Kuwait closed its
embassy in Damascus in 2012, but in December 2014 it allowed Syria to reopen its embassy in
Kuwait to perform consular services for the approximately 140,000 Syrians living and working in
Kuwait.20 Kuwaiti diplomats insisted the reopening did not represent a change of Kuwait’s policy
on Asad. As noted above, Kuwait is hosting coalition air operations against Islamic State forces in
Syria.
Kuwait has been at the forefront, among the Gulf states, in attempting to help the civilian victims
of the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Kuwait has hosted two major donors’ conferences (January 30,
2013, and January 15, 2014) at which Kuwait has pledged a total of $600 million in humanitarian
aid ($300 million at each conference). The Kuwaiti donations were composed overwhelmingly of
donations to nine U.N. agencies and to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Of
the Kuwaiti government’s pledges, about $70 million was channeled through Kuwaiti agencies
such as the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and the Kuwait Red Crescent Society.
Kuwait’s Foreign Minister said on January 18, 2015, that Kuwait will host another donor
conference on this same issue, but no date was announced.
Egypt. Kuwait has adopted a position on Egypt similar to that of Saudi Arabia and UAE, but at
odds with Qatar. Qatar was the major Gulf financial benefactor of Egypt during the presidency of

19 “Kuwait Role in Yemen a Surprise, Yet Underlines Frustrations with Tehran.” UAE The National, April 13, 2015.
20 http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/01/06/391924/Syria-embassy-in-Kuwait-resumes-services
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Muslim Brotherhood senior figure Mohammad Morsi. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE assert
that the Brotherhood in Egypt supports Muslim Brotherhood oppositionists in the Gulf states,
including Kuwait. Since Morsi was deposed by the Egyptian military on July 3, 2013, Kuwait has
given Egypt at least $8 billion in aid to Egypt in grant, loans, and investments. That represents
Kuwait’s portion of joint Saudi, UAE, and Kuwaiti pledges to Egypt of $24 billion. Kuwaiti
leaders also have criticized U.S. cuts in aid to Egypt since the Morsi ouster, as reportedly
discussed during the September 2013 White House meeting between the Amir and President
Obama. However, Kuwait did not join Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and UAE in withdrawing their
ambassadors from Qatar over the Egypt/Muslim Brotherhood dispute. The rift was resolved in
November 2014 when Qatar signed an agreement to increase cooperation with the other GCC
states on foreign policy issues and the three GCC states returned their ambassadors to Doha.
Kuwait has also made arrests of Egyptians in Kuwait for political activities. In April 2011, just
after President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, security officers arrested and deported 21
Egyptian nationals resident in Kuwait for attending meetings in support of Egyptian opposition
figure Dr. Mohammad El Baradei. In August 2011, in line with Kuwait’s stance against the
Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Kuwaiti authorities said they would deport nine pro-Morsi
demonstrators who had been protesting outside the Egyptian embassy in Kuwait.
Other Assistance. In July 2011, Kuwait contributed $1 million to help relieve the effects of
drought in Somalia. In November 2013, Kuwait donated $10 million in relief aid to the
Philippines following a destructive typhoon there.
Arab-Israeli Dispute
For many years after the Iraqi invasion, Kuwait was at odds with then Palestinian leader Yasir
Arafat and with Jordan for opposing war to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi invasion. Kuwait
expelled about 450,000 Palestinian workers after liberation, viewing them as disloyal. Kuwait
subsequently maintained ties and gave financial support to Hamas, the main competitor of
Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization. In part because of Kuwait’s antagonism to the PLO,
which still dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA), Kuwait has not been a major mediator in
intra-Palestinian disputes. Nor has it publicly advanced its own proposals for resolving the Israeli-
Palestinian dispute. However, in line with the positions of the other GCC and Arab states, Kuwait
supports U.N. recognition of the State of Palestine, requested formally by PA President Mahmoud
Abbas at the U.N. General Assembly meetings in September 2011.
During the period of active Gulf-Israel negotiations (1992-1997), Kuwait attended multilateral
working group peace talks with Israel—sessions on arms control, water resources, refugees, and
other issues that were begun as part of the “Oslo Accords” process between Israel and the
Palestinians. However, Kuwait did not host any sessions of the multilaterals. In 1994, Kuwait was
key in persuading the other Gulf monarchies to cease enforcement of the secondary (trade with
firms that deal with Israel) and tertiary (trade with firms that do business with blacklisted firms)
Arab boycotts of Israel. However, Kuwait did not, as did Qatar and Oman, subsequently
exchange trade offices with Israel and therefore Kuwait retained the “primary Arab boycott” (on
direct trade with Israel). On the other hand, potentially signaling that Kuwait might join other
GCC states such as UAE in cultivating private ties to Israel, Kuwait’s Foreign Minister visited the
Old City of Jerusalem in September 2014. The Kuwaiti government denied it represented a trip to
Israel, stating that the Old City is a part of Palestine that is occupied, but the visit required at least
the tacit cooperation of Israeli authorities.
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Performance on Countering Terrorism Financing/Islamic State
Donations21
The Obama Administration and outside experts have been increasingly critical of Kuwait for
failing to halt private Kuwaiti donations to Islamic extremist groups in Syria.22 According to press
reports, Kuwaiti donors and donor aggregators use social media and other methods to collect
funds for such Syrian factions as Al Nusra Front, which the U.S. government has designated as a
terrorist organization.23 The total amounts of such Kuwaiti donations to Syrian rebel groups are
not known, but the private donor effort reportedly has been highly organized, operating under
such slogans as “Syria Calls,” launched by a group called the “Union of Kuwaiti Campaigns to
Support Syria.” The donors involved purportedly do not consider the Syrian rebel factions as
“terrorists” to which funds should be denied.
U.S. officials reportedly have urged the Kuwaiti government to try to stop this financial flow.
Treasury Department Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said
publicly on March 4, 2014, that the appointment of a leading Kuwaiti donor to Al Nusra, Nayef
al-Ajmi, as Minister of Justice and Minister of Islamic Endowments (Awqaf), was “a step in the
wrong direction.”24 Subsequent to those comments, Ajmi resigned his government posts.25 On
August 6, 2014, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two Ajmi tribe members and one
other Kuwaiti, under Executive Order 13224 sanctioning support for international terrorism. The
three sanctioned were Shafi Sultan al-Ajmi, Hajjaj al-Ajmi, and Abd al-Rahman al-Anizi.26
Hajjah al-Ajmi and another Kuwaiti, Hamid Hamad Al Ali, were sanctioned by the United
Nations Security Council for allegedly providing financial support to the Al Nusra Front. In a
speech on October 23, 2014, Cohen reiterated his earlier criticism, saying Kuwait (and Qatar)
were still “permissive jurisdictions” for terrorism financing.27 Much earlier, in June 2008, the
Treasury Department froze the assets of one of these charities—the Islamic Heritage Restoration
Society—for alleged links to Al Qaeda, under E.O. 13224.
The government has taken some steps to accommodate U.S. views on this issue. In May 2014, the
Ministry of Social Affairs warned Kuwaiti citizens that the campaigns are unauthorized and
violate Kuwait law on financial donations. Kuwait law limits fundraising to only authorized
charity organizations, including the Social Reform Society, Islamic Heritage Restoration Society,
Direct Aid, Sheikh Abdullah al-Nuri Charitable Society, Prisoners Solidarity Society, Sunna
Sciences Society, Kuwait Relief, Al-Najat Charitable Society, Good Tidings Charity, and Patients
Helping Fund Society. The State Department report on global terrorism for 2013, cited above,

21 Some information in this section is taken from the State Department country report on terrorism for 2013, released
April 30, 2014. http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224823.htm.
22 Joby Warrick, “Wealthy Donors Influence Syria War,” Washington Post, June 16, 2013.
23 Ben Hubbard. “Donors’ Funds Add Wild Card to War in Syria.” New York Times, November 13, 2013.
24 Department of the Treasury. Remarks of Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen
before the Center for New American Security on “Confronting New Threats in Terrorist Financing.” March 4, 2014.
25 Karen DeYoung. “Kuwait Cabinet Minister Resigns After Allegations.” May 13, 2014.
26 Treasury Department, Office of the Press Secretary. August 6, 2014.
27 Remarks by Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen. “Attacking ISIL’s Financial
Foundation.” October 23, 2014.
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credited Kuwait with passing, in May 2013, comprehensive money laundering and anti-terrorism
financing legislation in 2013. According to the State Department report, the 2013 laws correct
significant deficiencies in an earlier 2002 law that had hampered Kuwaiti prosecutions of
terrorism-related crimes. The 2013 laws also created a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which
will investigate terrorism financing and money laundering and prescribe a jail term of up to 15
years for those convicted of funding terrorist organizations. Kuwait is a member of the Middle
East North Africa Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and the 2013 laws adopted apparently
were the product of an action plan Kuwait developed with the FATF to address Kuwait’s
weaknesses on the issue. In August 2014, Kuwait arrested three of its citizens suspected of
funneling funds to extremist groups.
Previous State Department terrorism reports have also praised Kuwait’s programs to encourage
moderation in Islam in Kuwait. There appeared to be no significant attacks attributed to terrorist
organizations in Kuwait in 2013 or thus far in 2014. On November 27, 2011, security services
arrested three Kuwaiti military officials on suspicion of links with a terrorist cell plotting to attack
locations in Bahrain and Qatar.
In April 2011 Kuwait introduced biometric fingerprinting at Kuwait International Airport and has
since extended that system to land and sea entry points. The NADR funds shown above have
been used, in large part, to assist Kuwait with counterterrorism efforts, border control, and export
controls.
Kuwait has long sought the return of two prisoners held at the U.S. facility in Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, under accusation of belonging to Al Qaeda. Amir Sabah reportedly raised the issue with
President Obama during their September 13, 2013, White House meeting. Kuwait has built a
rehabilitation center for the two, Fayez al Kandari and Fawzi al-Udah, to reintegrate them into
society after they are returned. On November 5, 2014, Fawzi al-Udah was released from
Guantanamo and returned to Kuwait. Al Kandari remains in Guantanamo.
Kuwaiti Economic Policy
In part because of the political disputes and unrest since 2006, Kuwait has underinvested in
capital infrastructure and overspent on public sector salaries and subsidies, according to the IMF
and other observers. Delayed spending on capital infrastructure projects contributed to a
perception of stagnation, particularly compared to the more vibrant GCC states Qatar and UAE.
This impression has been augmented by a lag in foreign direct investment in Kuwait relative to
other GCC states. Only $800 million has been invested in Kuwait in the past 10 years. In contrast,
in the same time period, $10 billion was invested in Bahrain, $73 billion in UAE, and $130
billion in Saudi Arabia.28
Kuwait’s finances have suffered further with the drop in oil prices in late 2014 from over $100
per barrel to about $75 per barrel. Kuwait’s budget is based on a “break even” price of $75 per
barrel. Because oil still represents about 90% of government revenues, the drop in oil prices has
caused Kuwait to project a budget deficit of about $24 billion for its 2015-2016 budget year. The
financial downturn will likely constrain any future efforts to use budgetary largesse to calm or
avoid unrest, should restiveness resurface publicly. In mid-2013, the National Assembly passed a

28 “Kuwait in Crisis As Ruling Family Splits, MP’s Rebel.” Reuters, June 7, 2011.
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law obligating the government to pay $2.5 billion in debts owed by Kuwaitis as a result of the
2008 financial crisis. Compounding economic uncertainty, in October 2014 and again in April
2015, Saudi Arabia temporarily closed an offshore oil field (Khafji) that it shares with Kuwait.
The field produces 280,000 barrels per day, split between the two countries. The dispute might
spill over into other disputes over production in their shared “neutral zone,” one of whose fields is
operated by Chevron Corp. The neutral zone is the only place in either Saudi Arabia or Kuwait
where foreign oil companies are permitted to have equity in oil fields. On the other hand, Kuwait
still has a large sovereign wealth fund, managed by the Kuwait Investment Authority, with
holdings estimated at about $550 billion.29
Even before the decline in oil prices, Kuwaiti leaders had been rethinking economic policy. In
October 2013 Prime Minister Jaber said the subsidies system had produced a “welfare state” and
was “unsustainable,” and he pledged to work to reduce them. Total subsidies cost the government
about $17.7 billion annually. The National Assembly passed some legislation, which took effect
September 2010, to privatize major sectors of the Kuwait economy. In January 2014, the National
Assembly approved legislation to privatize Kuwait Airways.
Political disputes have also prevented movement on several major potential drivers of future
growth, the most prominent of which is Project Kuwait. The project, backed by the Kuwaiti
government, would open Kuwait’s northern oil fields to foreign investment to generate about
500,000 barrels per day of extra production. The Assembly has blocked the $8.5 billion project
for over a decade because of concerns about Kuwait’s sovereignty, and observers say no
compromise is in sight. A project to build a fourth oil refinery, estimated to cost $8 billion, also
has not advanced.
The 2008 financial crisis, coupled with the political infighting, earlier caused Kuwait to shelve a
joint venture with Dow Chemical to form the largest maker of polyethylene. On December 29,
2008, the government cancelled the venture, which was to have required a Kuwaiti investment of
$7.5 billion by state-run Petrochemical Industries Co.-Kuwait. Dow reportedly had planned to use
the proceeds of the investment to fund its purchase of the Rohm and Haas chemical firm,
although that deal ultimately went through anyway. In May 2013, an arbitrator decided in favor of
Dow Chemical, ordering the Petrochemical Industries Co.-Kuwait to pay Dow $2.2 billion in
damages for severing the venture.
The United States imports an average of about 250,000 barrels per day in crude oil from Kuwait
(about 3% of U.S. oil imports). Total U.S. exports to Kuwait were about $3.6 billion in 2014,
about 40% higher than in 2013, consisting mostly of automobiles, industrial equipment, and
foodstuffs. Total U.S. imports from Kuwait in 2014 were about $11.4 billion, of which almost all
was crude oil and other petroleum products.
Like other Gulf states, Kuwait sees peaceful uses of nuclear energy as important to its economy,
although doing so always raises fears among some in the United States, Israel, and elsewhere
about the ultimate intentions of developing a nuclear program. Kuwait is cooperating with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure international oversight of any nuclear
work in Kuwait.

29 Jamal Hussein. “Kuwait Needs Better Resource Utilization to Close Gap.” Gulf News, July 21, 2014; “Oil Price
Slide Hits Kuwait Government Income.” Naharnet, October 17, 2014.
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In 1994, Kuwait became a founding member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In
February 2004, the United States and Kuwait signed a Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement (TIFA), often viewed as a prelude to a free trade agreement (FTA), which Kuwait has
said it seeks. Kuwait gave $500 million worth of oil to U.S. states affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Table 3. Some Basic Facts
Leadership
Amir: Shaykh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah. Crown Prince/heir
apparent: Shaykh Nawwaf al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah. Prime Minister:
Shaykh Jabir al-Mubarak Al Sabah
Population
About 2.7 million, of which 1.2 million are citizens.
GDP (purchasing power parity, PPP)
$166 billion (2013)
Religions
Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi te 30%); other (Christian, Hindu, Parsi)
15%
GDP per capita (PPP)
$42,000/yr. (2013)
GDP growth rate
2.3% (2013)
Inflation 2.8%
(2013)
Oil (proven reserves)
102 billion barrels (7% of world proven reserves)
Oil exports
2.15 million barrels per day (mbd)
Sources: CRS; CIA, The World Factbook reports; IMF.

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Figure 1. Map of Kuwait

Source: Graphic created by CRS. Boundaries and cities generated by Hannah Fischer using data from
Department of State, Esri, and Google Maps (al 2013).

Author Contact Information

Kenneth Katzman

Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
kkatzman@crs.loc.gov, 7-7612

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