Economy of Kuwait (2017)

Source: Turkish Embassy in Kuwait

Main import partners: People’s Republic of China, USA, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Saudi Arabia, India

Main export partners : India, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, People’s Republic of China, Iraq

Main export items: Crude oil, mineral fuels and oils, organic chemicals, motor vehicles, plastic and plastic products

Main import items: Motor vehicles, machine, electrical and electronic equipment, iron and construction materials

Bilateral Trade and Economic Relations

The bilateral trade volume, which fell between 2015 and 2017, reached a level of USD 678 million by of the end of 2018 and exceeded the trade volume recorded in 2015.

Currently, more than 300 Kuwaiti companies are operating in Türkiye and the total value of investments by these companies is worth USD 1.7 billion. Kuwaiti investments in Türkiye focus on the areas of finance, real estate, trade and industry. On the other hand, the total amount of tenders won by Turkish companies in Kuwait currently reached USD 6,5-7 billion.

It is a rising trend among Kuwaiti citizens to invest in the Turkish real estate sector and thus to purchase property in Türkiye. In line with this trend, Kuwaiti citizens purchased 1.691 property items in Türkiye in 2017.

In addition to Kuwaitis’ increasing interest to invest in Türkiye, the positive state of affairs in bilateral political and economic relations and the exemption of ordinary Kuwaiti passport holders from visa since 2017 have contributed to the rise in the number of Kuwaiti tourists visiting Türkiye. In this regard, while 20.000 Kuwaiti tourists visited Türkiye in 2010, the number of Kuwaiti tourists coming to Türkiye reached 180.000 and 298.620 in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

Bilateral Trade and Economic Relations (million USD):

Source: TurkStat

Türkiye’s main export items to Kuwait: Weaved carpet and flooring materials, iron and steel, motor vehicles and their components, machinery and spare parts thereof, textile

Türkiye’s main import items from Kuwait: Crude oil, petrochemical products, organic chemicals, plastic and plastic products

Number of Kuwaiti tourists visiting Türkiye : 174.486 (2015), 179.938 (2016), 255.644 (2017), 298.620 (2018)

Bilateral Cooperation Mechanisms:

Joint Economic Commission Meetings: The 10^th meeting of the Turkish-Kuwaiti Joint Economic Commission was held on 31 October 2017, in Kuwait, under the co-chairmanship of Mehmet Şimşek, former Deputy Prime Minister of Türkiye, and Khalid Nasser Abdullah Al Roudan, Minister of Trade and Industry of Kuwait. The current Turkish co-chair of the Joint Economic Commission is Berat Albayrak, the Minister of Treasury and Finance.

Türkiye-Kuwait Business Council: The Business Council, established under the umbrella of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye (DEIK), was convened on 22 June 2017 in Istanbul with the participation of Khalid Nasser Abdallah Al Rodan, Minister of Trade and Industry of Kuwait. The Business Council, does not have an active counterpart in Kuwait pursuant to Kuwaiti legislations.