BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was named director general of the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) in July 2013, his latest post in a public-sector career spent in senior economics, finance, and trade-related positions.
Dr. Al-Sabah worked for the Council of Ministers in various capacities until 2008, when he was named chief of the Kuwait Foreign Investment Bureau (KFIB), a division within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that preceded KDIPA.
In addition to leading KFIB and then KDIPA, Dr. Al-Sabah serves as deputy chairman of the National Offset Company. He was a member of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Kuwait in 2012–2013and chaired an inter-ministry steering group for tackling insolvency and the creditor/debtor regime. He currently chairs the newly formulated Permanent Committee on Streamlining the Business Environment in Kuwait.
Dr. Al-Sabah holds a doctorate degree in human resources and marketing management from the University of Portsmouth (UK), focusing on resource cost reduction through innovation in Kuwait. Earlier, he received an MBA from Netherlands’ Maastricht School of Management (Kuwait campus), and a BA in political sciences and public administration from Kuwait University.
KUWAIT DIRECT INVESTMENT PROMOTION AUTHORITY
The Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) was established according to Law No.116/2013 in June 2013 as an independent public authority, absorbing the functions of the Kuwait Foreign Investment Bureau (KFIB), targeting both local and foreign direct investments into Kuwait.
KDIPA’s mission is to “actively promote Kuwait as an investment hub through the formulation of successful partnerships in line with the development goals, streamlining the business environment in cooperation with various stakeholders and supporting the establishment of viable competitive export-based industrial clusters.”
It provides potential investors with information and advice about Kuwait and helps them obtain the necessary investment licenses. The authority interfaces with other government departments and agencies through a one stop shop to speed up the process of licensing, help resolve investors’ problems, and handles incentives when these are granted to approved investment projects. It is also assigned the task of overseeing the streamlining of business environment in Kuwait and enhancing the country’s competitiveness.