Kuwait grants $2.5bn to Oman

An agreement was signed here on Monday between the Omani Ministry of Finance and Kuwait Fund For Arab Economic Development (KFAED) virtue of which a grant of USD 2.5 billion from Kuwait is to fund projects in the sultanate within the framework of GCC development programs. The 10-year grant comes in an annual USD 250 million and contributes to financing and supporting different development projects in the sultanate. The agreement was signed by Finance Minister Darwish bin Ismail Al-Bloushi on behalf of the Omani side and KFAED Director General Abdulwahab Ahmad Al-Bader, a statement by the Ministry of Finance here said. The grant will fund projects agreed to between the sultanate and KFAED, projects within the GCC framework such as electricity and water linkage, GCC railways, and infrastructure projects for industrial zones and other future projects. The grant is awarded in implementation of a GCC Ministerial Council resolution during its 118th session, March 2011. The resolution urged a comprehensive GCC development program and allocation of USD 10 billion over a period of ten years to finance developmental projects in the sultanate.