UPDATE 1-Kuwait's emir says economic reforms needed despite higher oil prices | Reuters

UPDATE 1-Kuwait's emir says economic reforms needed despite higher oil prices | Reuters:

Kuwait needs to push through economic reforms despite higher oil prices, the Gulf state’s ruler said on Tuesday, urging parliament to work with the government to implement measures aimed at diversifying revenues and developing the economy. 


Kuwait, whose state finances are among the strongest in the region, has been trying to introduce new taxes and reform a lavish welfare system to curb state spending.

“I hope that the recent temporary improvement in oil prices does not obstruct this important path, which aims to protect future generations,” Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah told parliament in a speech at the start of its new session.