Kuwait’s post-independence era has seen it manage to build and maintain solid international ties with several countries around the world, especially those in the Arab world as far as political and economic relations are concerned. In the political setting, Kuwait has always employed a foreign policy that emphasizes on neutrality. This policy was developed during the late 1980s mainly due to Kuwait’s faltering relationship with one of their neighbors, Iraq. Following the invasion and occupation of Kuwait by Iraq on the 2 nd August 1990, Kuwait’s liberation was supported by several nations from the international and regional spheres including the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Qatar (Khalili, 2009).
The military and financial support proved successful as Kuwait attained liberation. It later provided key reconstruction roles to states that had been members of the multinational coalition that helped liberate it; it has since fostered strong cooperative and diplomatic relations with these countries. In contrast, states that had supported Iraq such as Yemen, Cuba, Sudan and Jordan still share a strained relationship with Kuwait.
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Ever since the Gulf War ended, Kuwait has sought to secure allies all over the world, especially with members of the United States Security Council. In the international context, defense arrangements have been made with the United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom. In the regional context, close ties with Syria and Egypt who are crucial Gulf War coalition members have been bolstered and maintained.
One of the key aspects of Kuwait’s foreign policy is its economic reliance on natural gas and oil. Given that Kuwait is a developing country, this dependence largely arises from the inability of its other economies to support it independently. Consequently, Kuwait has focused on enhancing its position as a provider of oil and natural gas. In the wake of the War on Iraq, the nation of Kuwait has adopted a stance that is extensively pro-United States as it provided ground for the launch of the war itself. With regard to strict border controls and presence of sufficient United States troops, Kuwait approved of the Coalition Provisional Authority (Held & Ulrichsen, 2012). Moreover, Kuwait shares a great relationship with Iran.
Kuwait is a member of the United Nations and is part and parcel of related organizations such as the World Bank and Arab Monetary Fund. Kuwait set up a diplomatic relationship with the United States after it achieved full independence from Britain. The U.S., a key player in the multinational coalition that expelled Iraq from Kuwait in 1991 supports the independence, security, and sovereignty of Kuwait along with its multilateral efforts to develop better diplomatic cooperation with countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. From 2003 to 2011, Kuwait enabled the United States to conduct operations in Iraq. The withdrawal of United States combat troops and related equipment from Iraq was also facilitated by Kuwait. As far as bilateral economic relations are concerned, Kuwait has signed several trade agreements with nations all around the world that have provided a platform for economic reforms and mutual trade issues to be addressed.
In the decade succeeding 1990, Kuwait fostered international investment but its major economic strategy remained in the supply of oil (Tétreault, 1995). The main challenges faced by the Kuwaiti regime in 2011 were those of reconstruction and physical rehabilitation, socio-economic recovery constitutional and political issues and reconciliation of a heavily divided population. The withdrawal of US troops from Kuwait left the nation in a situation where the country had to recover from the post-war effects. The political scene was highly competitive and the need for a new leader to bring about desperate changes to the economy of Kuwait was evident.
References
Held, D. & Ulrichsen, K. (2012). The transformation of the Gulf : Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Tétreault, M. (1995). The Kuwait petroleum corporation and the economics of the new world order . Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books.
Khalili, L. (2009). Politics of the modern Arab world London: Routledge.
