On November 5-7 , CLDP conducted, in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Planning and Development (SCPD), a three-day assessment of Kuwait's current procurement processes and its new procurement law, which was enacted in 2016.  Kuwait is currently in the process of developing its regulations under this new law and will be launching a capacity building program over the next several years to train its contracting offices on the new procurement law and its regulations. Kuwait has requested CLDP’s support to incorporate best practices in the new regulations and to equip its contracting officers with the skills needed in the areas of acquisition planning, market research, source selection and  contract management to increase competition and ensure transparency.

CLDP’s assessment also included meetings with Kuwaiti and US private sector representatives who provided their perspectives on the current procurement process.

US companies experience major delays, disputes and unpredictability in the current tendering process and CLDP has identified specific concerns that it will seek to address during the next two years of programming. This assessment is the first phase of a multi-phase program to improve the efficiency and transparency of the Kuwaiti regime in an effort to help the government reduce the costs of its procurements, grow local industries, and attract investment.