Kuwait Kuwait stands as one of the wealthiest of the 6 countries of the GCC: around US$56 000 GDP per capita, and possesses more than 6% of the world reserves (owning 104 billion barrels of proved reserves of crude oil and 63.500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2014 But Kuwait is also lagging behind in terms of diversification for several reasons. First, being an energy-rich country, benefitting from a constant budget surplus, it had no incentive until now to invest more in other economic activities. Then, the geopolitical situation in its neighborhood with the first Iran-Iraq War followed by the first Gulf War, damaged the attractiveness of the country, deteriorating the business climate and discouraging the private sector to invest more. Governance hurdles – notably misunderstandings between the National Assembly and the government also impeded initiatives from the State to diversify the economy. However, change seems to be underway since the creation of the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development in 2007. Moreover, through its State Vision 2035 plan, the country aims to spend almost US$130 in the infrastructure (railway, metro systems…), and construction (Silk City) to restore its status as a regional trade and financial hub, as renowned in the 1950’s. The private sector should play a major role in this diversification process. Yet, despite all this initiatives, the government is still willing to increase the productivity of the energy sector. Even if some members of the GCC are still not fully committed to diversification processes, they have all made considerable efforts to this end. Throughout their foreign investment legislation reforms, progressive opening to foreign capital, and privatization of their economies, the share of the non-hydrocarbon sectors for Gulf countries as a whole has grown from 52% of the total GDP in 1990 to 70% in 2010. The proliferation of strategic industrial projects, investments into infrastructure (transport, tourism,…) and the growing share of services have made the area one of the world’s most dynamic region.