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Kuwait approves $76bn state budget with focus on job support

June 24, 2021 at 2:45 pm

Under-Secretary of Kuwait’s ministry of finance Khalifa Hamada (R) speaks as Kuwaiti Finance Minister Anas al-Saleh looks on during a parliament session at the Kuwaiti national assembly in Kuwait City on 20 May 2014. [YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images]

Kuwait’s parliament approved the 2021-22 state budget on Tuesday focusing on job support as the country witnessed record annual job losses earlier this year.

Finance Minister Khalifa Hamada said 71.6 per cent of expenditure is allocated for job support, the state news agency KUNA reported.

The budget estimates a revenue of $36 billion.

“The budget’s approval for the fiscal year that began on April 1 and was supported by 32 of 63 lawmakers, was needed to keep development projects afloat,” Hamada also added.

Kuwait is currently nationalising a number of jobs in an effort to tackle unemployment.

The Gulf state announced a deficit of $18.44 billion in the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

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