Kuwait Embarking on Reducing Fiscal Deficit in Budget Through Expenditure Rationalization, Diversifying Sources of Income

Kuwaiti Minister of Finance, Anwar Al Mudhaf, emphasized that reducing the fiscal deficit in the general budget is a governmental priority to be achieved through expenditure rationalization, addressing waste, and increasing and diversifying sources of income. Addressing the general budget forum, held on Sunday, by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Finance, Al Mudhaf stressed the necessity of controlling the fiscal deficit to ensure future sustainability of the state public finances, pointing out that the cumulative deficit from the fiscal year 2015-2016 to 2023-2024, has exceeded KWD30 billion (approximately $98 billion). He anticipated that the cumulative deficit from the fiscal year 2025-2026 to 2028-2029 will amount to more than KWD26 billion (approximately $84.9), clarifying that Kuwait will achieve financial sustainability by rationalizing government spending to control budget growth, with the government expenditure expected to stabilize at KWD24.5 billion (approximately $80 billion). Additionally, this will in volve diversifying income sources and doubling non-oil revenues to reach KWD4 billion (roughly $13 billion) in the fiscal year 2027-2028. Regarding the revenues for the current fiscal year, Al Mudhaf, projected that they will reach KWD18.9 billion (approximately $61.7 billion). He predicted that in the fiscal year 2025-2026, revenues will increase to KWD21.8 billion (roughly $71.2 billion), while in 2026-2027, they will amount to KW20.3 billion (approximately $66.3 billion). In the same context, Al Mudhaf stated that the expected state revenues for the fiscal year 2027-2028, are estimated at about KWD20.4 billion (approximately $66.6 billion), and for the fiscal year 2028-2029, they will be KWD20.3 billion (approximately $66.3 billion). On the other hand, Al Mudhaf highlighted that the decline in liquidity rates in the General Reserve Fund (GRF) is attributed to the steadfast increase in withdrawals from the fund balance. The balance of GRF was KWD2 billion (approximately $6.5 billion) in the fiscal year 2 023-2024, compared to KWD33.6 billion (approximately $109.8 billion) in the fiscal year 2014-2015. Source: Qatar News Agency