On November 5,  CLDP and the Kuwait Supreme Council for Planning and Development (SCPD) signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to cooperate on technical assistance programs for government agencies across the Kuwaiti government.  The LOI covers CLDP’s three main areas of cooperation, which include contract enforcement, insolvency and public procurement.  The aim of this LOI is to facilitate the implementation of technical assistance programs across the inter-agency  and, more importantly, help us to collectively achieve tangible results through SCPD’s role as a policy-making and coordinating body. The SCPD reports directly to the Kuwait Council of Ministers, Kuwait’s cabinet, and is tasked with developing economic and social development policies in the State of Kuwait.  

The LOI was signed on behalf of CLDP by US Ambassador to Kuwait, Lawrence Silverman, and on behalf of the SCPD by its Secretary General, Dr. Khaled Mahdi. The programmatic areas covered by the LOI are priority areas for the SCPD as it seeks to support economic diversification in Kuwait. The areas of contract enforcement and public procurement are of particular concern to US companies given the lack of transparency and efficiency of those processes in Kuwait. CLDP’s programs aim to address those challenges and this LOI will enable CLDP to more effectively deliver those programs.