Gulf In Focus - Kuwait: gas half full.

Late in January, Jasem Albudaiwi was appointed secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). A former ambassador to the US, Albudaiwi is the second Kuwaiti in a row to assume leadership of this regional organization. He promises to shake it up, boosting, for example, AFAQ, the GCC's new cross-border payments system, which Kuwait joined in 2022. Last year the Gulf monarchies were among the world's fastest-growing economies. High energy prices in 2022 pushed Kuwait's oil revenue up 85 percent, translating into 8.5 percent GDP growth and a 70 percent decrease in the fiscal deficit-the first drop in three...