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Zain Summer Program returns for sixth season

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KUWAIT: Zain announced the kick-off of the sixth season of its Youth Summer Program, one of the company’s flagship initiatives under its community strategy to empower the next generation of national talent in the private sector and prepare a creative workforce capable of succeeding and excelling in today’s dynamic job market.

This year’s edition comes in partnership with the Kuwait News media organization, Kuwait Times English daily, INJAZ Kuwait, and for the first time, V-Thru, Kuwait’s leading virtual drive-thru platform, offering participants new hands-on training experiences in digital marketing, smart operations, and the logistics sector.

The program will host 35 university students from various majors in a one-month journey that combines fieldwork, hands-on training, and workshops focused on personal and professional skills, all within an interactive environment designed to reflect the needs of the fast-evolving digital job market.

Commenting on the launch, Hamad Al-Musaibeeh, Corporate Relations Department Manager at Zain Kuwait, said: “We’re proud to launch a new season of our summer program, which has become a highly anticipated annual milestone for ambitious youth. It’s not just a training opportunity, but a holistic platform for developing professional and leadership skills and guiding participants toward careers aligned with their talents and ambitions. Our growing partnerships with leading local organizations reflect our commitment to expanding the program’s scope and impact year after year.”

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He added: “This year, the program offers four core training tracks. The first is the field track at Zain’s retail branches across Kuwait, where participants will be trained in customer service, marketing, sales, and teamwork. The second is the media track in collaboration with Kuwait News and Kuwait Times, where participants will explore content creation, editing, journalism, and photography and videography.”

Al-Musaibeeh continued: “In addition, we have the career skills track in partnership with INJAZ Kuwait, which includes intensive workshops on leadership, communication, career planning, and job market readiness. Finally, the new technical and operations track in collaboration with V-Thru offers students practical experience in a startup environment, with exposure to digital marketing and logistics operations.”

Jana Khaldoun Alnaqeeb, Director of PR and CSR at Kuwait News and Kuwait Times, commented: “Our continued collaboration with Zain in this program for the second year running stems from our belief in the importance of involving youth in shaping media messages and providing them with the tools to understand the media’s impact. This season, we’ll focus on nurturing creativity and initiative among students through editorial and field experiences that reflect their authentic voices.”

Jaber Ashkanani, Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at INJAZ Kuwait, stated: “We are pleased to continue this strategic partnership with Zain, which spans over 20 years of collaboration aimed at preparing a well-informed generation capable of facing future challenges and the job market.”

He added: “This year, we are especially delighted to collaborate on delivering the ‘My Career Path’ program for enrolled youth, which focuses on developing leadership skills, creative problem-solving, as well as verbal and written communication skills, among other competencies that help young people become qualified, professional contributors to the workforce.”

“At V-Thru, we believe it’s our responsibility to pass on the knowledge, experience, and values we’ve gained through building one of Kuwait’s fastest-growing tech startups,” said Abdullah Al-Shalabi, Co-Founder and CEO of V-Thru. “This initiative reflects our commitment to investing in local youth and preparing them to thrive in a digital-first economy.”

“In turn, we gain valuable insights from this generation, their perspectives help us understand the evolving needs of tomorrow’s market. The program also serves as a strong recruitment channel: several of our top-performing employees started as interns.”

He added: “This partnership with Zain allows us to scale our impact by reaching even more students and fresh graduates, giving them hands-on exposure to real-world challenges in technology, operations, marketing, and customer experience. Together, we’re not just creating internship opportunities, we’re building a pipeline of future leaders for Kuwait’s innovation ecosystem.”

Zain’s Summer Program is held under the umbrella of its youth empowerment platform Future University Network (FUN), one of the company’s longest-running sustainable initiatives launched in 2008. Hundreds of students have benefited from the program over the years, many of whom later joined Zain’s workforce after graduation as full-time employees.

In the program’s last edition, participants completed over 90 training hours across various fields. The program achieved remarkable success, reflected in the valuable feedback shared by students and Zain’s partners, further underscoring the importance of continuing and expanding this initiative to meet the evolving aspirations of future generations.

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Kuwait population reaches 5.099 million; Budget revenues could hit KD 18.276bn

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KUWAIT: The total population in Kuwait reached approximately 5.099 million people by the end of June 2025, marking a growth of about 2.2 percent—or an absolute increase of around 111,000 people—compared to the end of 2024 when the population was 4.988 million, according to the data released by the Public Authority for Civil Information. The PACI has released the latest detailed data on population and labor statistics as of the end of June 2025.

The proportion of Kuwaitis in the total population also dropped— from about 31.7 percent at the end of the first half of 2024 to around 30.4 percent according to the latest figures. The number of Kuwaiti males, at approximately 776.7 thousand, slightly exceeds that of Kuwaiti females, at around 773.9 thousand. Meanwhile, the number of non-Kuwaiti residents increased by about 189.3 thousand people, representing a growth rate of approximately 5.6 percent, bringing their total to around 3.548 million. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the non-Kuwaiti population from 2015 to June 2025 was about 2.0 percent.

The total number of workers in Kuwait reached approximately 3.142 million, representing about 61.6 percent of the total population. For Kuwaiti citizens, the employment-to-population ratio stood at about 31.7 percent of the total Kuwaiti population. Notably, the percentage of employed non-Kuwaitis out of the total non-Kuwaiti population was around 74.7 percent. When compared to the end of June 2024, the share of Kuwaiti workers within the total workforce in Kuwait decreased from about 16.6 percent to approximately 15.6 percent in June 2025.

Additionally, the proportion of female workers among the total Kuwaiti workforce declined to around 49.3 percent by the end of the first half of the current year, down from 51.2 percent in June 2024. Female workers made up around 30.3 percent of the total workforce in Kuwait. The number of employed Kuwaiti nationals declined by approximately 15.2 thousand, bringing the total to around 491.1 thousand workers, down from about 506.4 thousand at the end of June 2024. Of these, about 392.9 thousand were employed in the government sector, accounting for 80.0 percent of all working Kuwaitis. This figure differs from the 83.8 percent reported by the CSB, both entities being government institutions, which may be due to the inclusion of unemployed individuals or those on waiting lists in the latter’s figures.

It is believed that the number of openly unemployed Kuwaitis slightly increased to around 30.7 thousand individuals, representing approximately 6.2 percent of the total Kuwaiti labor force by the end of June 2025, compared to about 29.9 thousand or 5.9 percent at the end of June 2024. The total number of workers (both Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti) in the government sector reached about 520 thousand, which accounts for roughly 16.5 percent of the total population. Kuwaitis made up approximately 75.6 percent of all employees in the public sector.

Kuwait oil price edges up

By the end of July 2025, the fourth month of the current fiscal year 2025/2026 had concluded. The average price of Kuwaiti oil per barrel for July was around $71.4, an increase of $1.5 per barrel or by 2.2 percent compared to the June’s average of $69.9 per barrel. It was also higher by $3.4 per barrel or by 5.0 percent, compared to the new assumed price in the current budget which is set at $68 per barrel. When comparing this figure to the approved expenditures of KD 24.538 billion, it is likely that the general budget for the current fiscal year 2025/2026 will record a deficit of KD 6.262 billion. However, the dominant factor remains the developments in oil revenues and the potential for savings in expenditures.

Furthermore, the average price of Kuwaiti oil per barrel for the elapsed period of the current fiscal year stood at $69, that is lower by $10.7 or by-13.4 percent compared to the average price per barrel of the previous fiscal year 2024/2025, which was around $79.7. It is also lower by $21.5 or by 23.7 percent, compared to the breakeven price in the current budget at $90.5, according to estimates by the Ministry of Finance and following the suspension of the 10 percent deduction from total revenues for the Future Generations Reserve. It is assumed that Kuwait generated oil revenues of KD 1.352 billion in July. Assuming that production levels and prices remain unchanged, an assumption that may not hold, total oil revenues for the entire current fiscal year are expected to reach KD 15.350 billion after deducting production costs.

This figure is around KD 45 million higher than the estimated amount in the current fiscal year’s budget, which is at KD 15.305 billion. With the addition of around KD 2.926 billion in non-oil revenues, the total budget revenues for the current fiscal year would amount to KD 18.276 billion. An announcement was made on July 22, 2025, regarding the actual budget deficit (the final account) for the previous fiscal year 2024/2025, which amounted to KD 1.056 billion. However, the detailed figures of that final account have not yet been published, making it difficult to analyze the situation.

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NBK sponsors the ‘Green Adventure’ program in collaboration with LOYAC

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KUWAIT: As part of its strategic partnership with LOYAC, and within its ongoing commitment to youth and society development, NBK sponsored the “Green Adventure” program aimed to build future leaders. The “Green Adventure” program, which is a unique initiative that combines physical and educational sustainability-related activities, took place in Portugal for seven days.

Through interactive theoretical sessions and practical field activities, the program targeted instilling values of environmental responsibility and sustainability for the youth to become future leaders and change makers. In the program, the students learned sustainable natural landscape and garden designing, in addition to applying sustainable daily agricultural practices to make a positive environmental impact.

The adventure opened many golden opportunities for the participants, such as exploring Portugal’s charming nature, diverse wildlife, and unique environmental systems. They also visited the ancient Moorish castle, and they were able to build connections with same-interest individuals and experts in the field, in addition to achieving a deeper understanding of the relationship between nature and society.

This sponsorship comes as an emphasis of NBK’s leadership in social responsibility and its commitment to investing in future generations, as it firmly believes in the effectiveness of such initiatives that contribute to shaping deeper understandings of global environmental issues, which consequently builds a generation that is strongly aware and capable of facing future sustainability-related challenges.

Additionally, NBK highlights the importance of private sector and non-profit organizations collaborations that aim to achieve sustainable development, and this sponsorship is part of a wider strategy that supports initiatives of youth education and environmental development for a better future for Kuwait and the region.

In this light, NBK will continue to promote social responsibility and support all society’s segments and non-profit organizations, particularly those institutions and programs that care for the youth and address their needs and requirements for a better future, as it strongly believes in the effective role of these programs in serving society and people. LOYAC is a non-profit organization that aims to support the youth by providing training opportunities and specialized educational and volunteer development programs.

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Kuwait Acting PM, FM receive Antigua and Barbuda’s FM

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KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Acting Prime Minister Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Al-Sabah receives on Wednesday at Bayan Palace, in the presence of Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya, Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Barbuda Affairs Everly Paul Chet Greene, along with his accompanying delegation. --KUNA

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Acting Prime Minister Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Al-Sabah receives on Wednesday at Bayan Palace, in the presence of Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya, Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Barbuda Affairs Everly Paul Chet Greene, along with his accompanying delegation. –KUNA

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Acting Prime Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah received on Wednesday at Bayan Palace, in the presence of Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya, Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Barbuda Affairs Everly Paul Chet Greene, along with his accompanying delegation, on the occasion of his visit to the country. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen them, in addition to exchanging views on issues of mutual interest.

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During the meeting, they reviewed the close bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and the frameworks for strengthening and developing them in various fields, in addition to discussing regional and international developments and the developments taking place in the region. — KUNA

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