The Kuwaiti authorities are right to press ahead with a new five-year development plan. The country’s first such plan covered the period from 2010-2014 and had committed investments of $105 billion.

True, doubts do swirl on the extent of implementation of projects in the initial plan and in itself reflective of the simmering differences in priorities between the elected parliament and appointed government. For instance, the MPs wanted to create more job opportunities for locals in the public sector, if only to satisfy their constituents.

Officials, however, desired to place the brakes on more employment for locals in government and semi-government agencies, seemingly on a readily understandable logic. It is acknowledged that the many state enterprises, including the oil sector, provide employment for some 90 per cent of Kuwaiti national workforce.

It is quite possible that investments relating to the new development plan would help achieve some of the key economic objectives, including expanding opportunities for the private sector. Certainly, Kuwait’s forward-looking investors need to seize opportunities associated with the revised development plan for their own well-being apart from the local economy.

Not surprisingly, the new development plan is designed to develop projects in infrastructure, hospitals, clinics, road network, transportation and utilities, as well as the construction of more than 100,000 housing units. Certainly, these sectors are bound to benefit from such investments through positive spillover effects.

Kuwait is a strong financial position to undertake such an expansive development plan, envisaged to be in excess of $100 billion, a sizeable figure for an economy with a GDP of around $176 billion.

According to the Sovereign Wealth Institute, the value of Kuwait’s sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) amounts to a quite handy $410 billion. It constitutes a notable 6 per cent of all global sovereign funds.

Only two Arab countries possess higher funds than Kuwait — the UAE ($1 trillion plus) and Saudi Arabia.

Kuwait’s sovereign ratings further strengthen the argument to allocate a sizeable amount in development projects. Only recently, Standard and Poor’s reaffirmed Kuwait’s ratings of AA for the long-term and A-1 for short-term with a stable outlook, on the back of strong fundamentals. This was built on a budgetary surplus of more than 10 per cent of GDP over the past decade.

The allocated funds could pave the way for Kuwait to streamline its rankings in key international surveys, in which it now lags behind other Gulf states. Such references have been made in two studies released by the World Bank, related to the ease of doing business and logistical capacity.

The ‘Doing Business 2014’ grants Kuwait the 62nd place among 189 economies, and the sole GCC member-state outside the Top 50 performers.

Additionally, the Logistics Performance Index (LPI), grants Kuwait a ranking of 59 among some 160 economies. This suggests that Kuwait lags behind the rest of the GCC with the exception of Oman. The UAE leads the region in the 27th position globally.

Kuwait set up its sovereign fund entity in 1953, ahead of all other Arab countries. The time is thus ripe for Kuwait to renew commitments to some of its old values so that the country assumes its righteous place in the region.

The writer is a Member of Parliament in Bahrain.