Political thaw lets hope bloom in Kuwait

* username: rupertbu

Decades of political skirmishing between Kuwait's government and parliament have long stymied the country's development , but Kuwaitis now tentatively discern a thaw in the conflict.

Kuwait's parliament last week passed a $104bn four-year development plan, the first for decades, proposed by the government. The bill foresees boosting power and oil production, and several infrastructure projects. On the same day, parliament passed a long-delayed capital markets law that establishes a sorely needed stock market regulator .

The bills have been cautiously applauded by bankers and analysts. While implementation remains uncertain, many finally sense some political momentum, and the prospect of the country's petrodollars trickling into development programmes and easing stresses in healthcare, electricity supply and infrastructure.