16 October 2026
Seven countries taking part in the Declaration of Cooperation met virtually on 4 October 2026, according to a statement on the OPEC website.
They were Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.
The countries decided to keep their September 2026 required production levels for November 2026.
They reaffirmed a collective commitment to achieve full conformity with the Declaration of Cooperation.
The group said it would continue to meet monthly to review market conditions, with its next meeting set for 1 November 2026.
Kuwait is a founder member of OPEC and oil income remains the main source of its state revenue.
Meeting date:
4 October 2026
Countries taking part:
7
Next meeting:
1 November 2026
Why it matters for exams: OPEC+ output decisions move oil prices and India's import bill, and the list of participating countries is often asked.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
Declaration of Cooperation OPEC and non-OPEC production agreement — The 2016 framework under which OPEC members and partners such as Russia coordinate output.
16 October 2026
The Central Bank of Kuwait announced on Monday, 28 September 2026 the launch of the Kuwait Wage Payment System, known as KWPS.
The Central Bank describes it as an integrated national platform for processing and monitoring wage transfers to private sector employees through local banks.
KWPS is a strategic project under the second phase of the Kuwait National Payment System and is built on the ISO 20022 messaging standard.
It is the third system launched in that phase, after the Kuwait Automated Clearing House in January 2026 and the Kuwait Dispute Management System in February 2026.
The Public Authority for Manpower will use the platform to oversee and monitor employers' compliance.
The Central Bank says the system should make wage payments more transparent and faster, improve data sharing between authorities and allow early detection of non-compliance.
Launch announced:
28 September 2026
Standard used:
ISO 20022
Supervising labour body:
Public Authority for Manpower
Why it matters for exams: Wage protection systems in the Gulf matter directly to Indian and Kerala migrant workers, and payment system names are asked in bank exams.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
KWPS Kuwait Wage Payment System — The Central Bank of Kuwait's platform for routing and monitoring private sector wage transfers.
Background
The Central Bank of Kuwait's main policy instrument is the discount rate, the rate at which it lends to local banks.
The Central Bank reduced the discount rate by 25 basis points from 3.75 per cent to 3.50 per cent, effective 11 December 2025, and it has stood at that level since.
The stated aim of the cut was to keep pace with developments in the local economy, stimulate economic activity and maintain the financial stability of banks and financial institutions.
The Central Bank said its indicators showed sustained relative stability of the Kuwaiti dinar exchange rate against major currencies and described the dinar as an attractive store of domestic savings.
It added that it would keep monitoring developments and use available monetary policy and macroprudential tools in a gradual and balanced approach.
The Kuwaiti dinar is among the world's highest-valued currencies.
Policy instrument:
Discount rate
Current level:
3.50 per cent
Size of the cut:
25 basis points
Why it matters for exams: Banking exams ask for the name of each central bank's policy rate, and Kuwait's is the discount rate rather than a repo rate.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
Discount rate the Central Bank of Kuwait's policy lending rate — The rate at which the Central Bank lends to local banks, Kuwait's main policy rate.
Background
The Central Bank of Kuwait states that its exchange rate policy aims at maintaining the relative stability of the Kuwaiti dinar against other currencies and shielding the domestic economy from imported inflation, in an economy that imposes no restrictions on the movement of capital.
From 18 March 1975 to the end of 2002 the dinar was pegged to a weighted basket of the currencies of countries with significant trade and financial relations with Kuwait.
By Decree No. 266/2002 the dinar was pegged to the United States dollar from 5 January 2003, at a parity rate of 299.63 fils per dollar with margins of plus or minus 3.5 per cent.
By Decree No. 147/2007 the dinar was repegged, effective 20 May 2007, to an undisclosed weighted basket of international currencies of Kuwait's major trade and financial partner countries.
The Central Bank says the return to a basket aims at protecting the purchasing power of the national currency and containing inflationary pressures.
Its published series puts the average exchange rate of the dinar in 2025 at 306.4 fils per United States dollar.
Current peg:
undisclosed weighted currency basket
Repegged by:
Decree No. 147/2007
Dollar parity set in 2003:
299.63 fils, margins plus or minus 3.5%
Average rate in 2025:
306.4 fils per US dollar
Why it matters for exams: Exchange rate regimes are a standard economy topic, and Kuwait is the one Gulf state that does not peg to the dollar.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
Fils the subunit of the Kuwaiti dinar — One dinar is divided into 1,000 fils.
Background
The World Trade Organization's member information page for Kuwait records that the State of Kuwait has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995.
That is the day the World Trade Organization itself came into being, so Kuwait is an original member rather than a later accession.
The same page records that Kuwait has been a member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade since 3 May 1963.
Kuwait's GATT membership therefore predates the World Trade Organization by more than three decades.
The page gathers Kuwait's goods and services schedules, tariff data, trade profiles, notifications and its record as complainant and respondent in WTO disputes.
WTO member since:
1 January 1995
GATT member since:
3 May 1963
Why it matters for exams: Dates of WTO and GATT membership are directly asked, and original WTO membership is a favourite distinction.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade — The 1947 trade agreement that the World Trade Organization replaced.
Background
United Nations Peacekeeping records that on 2 August 1990 Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait, and that on the same day the Security Council adopted resolution 660 (1990), condemning the invasion and demanding Iraq's immediate and unconditional withdrawal.
A few days later the Council instituted mandatory arms and economic sanctions against Iraq.
Between 2 August and 29 November 1990 the Council adopted twelve resolutions on the situation between Iraq and Kuwait, culminating in resolution 678 (1990).
That resolution specified that if Iraq had not implemented the Council's resolutions by 15 January 1991, Member States cooperating with Kuwait's legitimate Government were authorised to use all necessary means to compel it to do so.
The deadline passed, and on 16 January 1991 the armed forces of the cooperating States began air attacks against Iraq, followed by a ground offensive on 24 February.
Offensive operations were suspended as of midnight on 28 February 1991, by which time Kuwait City had been liberated and all Iraqi armed forces had left Kuwaiti territory.
Invasion:
2 August 1990
Resolution condemning it:
660 (1990)
Resolutions adopted to 29 November 1990:
12
Deadline in resolution 678:
15 January 1991
Operations suspended:
midnight, 28 February 1991
Why it matters for exams: Resolutions 660 and 678 and the dates of the 1991 liberation of Kuwait are among the most asked Security Council facts.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
All necessary means the authorisation in resolution 678 (1990) — The Security Council formula that allowed the use of force to end the occupation of Kuwait.
Background
United Nations Peacekeeping records that on 3 April 1991 the Security Council adopted resolution 687 (1991), setting detailed conditions for a formal ceasefire and establishing a demilitarized zone along the boundary between Iraq and Kuwait, to be monitored by a United Nations observer unit.
On 9 April 1991, by resolution 689 (1991) and acting under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Council established the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission, UNIKOM, with a strength of 300 military observers.
UNIKOM's mandate was to monitor the demilitarized zone and the Khawr Abd Allah waterway between Iraq and Kuwait, to deter violations of the boundary and to observe any hostile action mounted from the territory of one State against the other.
The Council decided that the mission's modalities would be reviewed every six months without a formal decision for extension, so that only its termination required a formal decision, subject to the concurrence of all the permanent members.
The advance party arrived on 13 April 1991 and the mission was fully deployed by 6 May; the demilitarized zone came into effect on 9 May 1991.
During the setting-up phase UNIKOM included five infantry companies drawn from the peacekeeping forces in Cyprus and Lebanon, which were withdrawn by the end of June 1991.
Demilitarized zone created by:
resolution 687 (1991)
UNIKOM established by:
resolution 689 (1991)
Strength:
300 military observers
Demilitarized zone in effect:
9 May 1991
Why it matters for exams: The pairing of resolution 687 with the demilitarized zone and resolution 689 with UNIKOM's 300 observers is a frequent match-the-following item.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNIKOM United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission — The observer mission that watched the demilitarized zone on the Iraq-Kuwait boundary.
Background
The United Nations' official list of Member States gives Kuwait's date of admission as 14-05-1963.
Kuwait therefore joined the Organization after it became independent of British protection, and it is not an original Member.
The same alphabetical list carries all 193 Member States of the United Nations.
Because the list is the Organization's own record of when each State was admitted, it settles questions about admission dates.
Kuwait's place in the United Nations matters because Security Council work on Kuwait, from the response to the invasion of 1990 to the later file on missing persons and property, has run through the Organization ever since.
Date of admission:
14-05-1963
UN Member States:
193
Why it matters for exams: Dates of admission to the United Nations are directly asked, and Kuwait's is often confused with its year of independence.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
The joint statement issued on the official visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kuwait on 21-22 December 2024 records that it was his first visit to that country.
He attended the opening ceremony of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup in Kuwait on 21 December 2024 as the Guest of Honour of Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
The Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah received the Prime Minister at Bayan Palace on 22 December 2024, where he was accorded a ceremonial welcome.
The Prime Minister expressed his deep appreciation to the Amir for conferring on him the highest award of the State of Kuwait, the Order of Mubarak Al Kabeer.
The two leaders agreed to elevate relations between India and Kuwait to a Strategic Partnership, which the statement says will further broad-base and deepen long-standing historical ties.
The Kuwaiti leadership expressed deep appreciation for the contribution of the Indian community in Kuwait, and both sides agreed to hold regular meetings of the Consular Dialogue and of labour mechanisms.
Honour:
The Order of Mubarak Al Kabeer
Level of ties:
Strategic Partnership
Sporting event attended:
26th Arabian Gulf Cup
Venue of the ceremonial welcome:
Bayan Palace
Why it matters for exams: Foreign honours conferred on India's Prime Minister and the list of India's strategic partners are standard award and diplomacy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Order of Mubarak Al Kabeer Kuwait's highest national award — Named after the ruler Mubarak Al-Sabah, known as Mubarak the Great.
Background
The India-Kuwait joint statement records the establishment of a Joint Commission on Cooperation, which will be an institutional mechanism to review and monitor the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and will be headed by the Foreign Ministers of both countries.
New Joint Working Groups were agreed to expand cooperation across various fields.
The Indian side welcomed Kuwait's decision to become a member of the International Solar Alliance, described as a step towards collaboration in developing and deploying low-carbon growth trajectories.
The two sides agreed to discuss participation by Kuwait in India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve Programme, and expressed keenness to increase cooperation in exploration and production of oil and gas, refining, engineering services, petrochemicals and new and renewable energy.
They welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of defence, providing a framework that includes joint military exercises.
Both sides also stressed the importance of the early conclusion of the India-Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement and supported the India-GCC Joint Action Plan.
New mechanism:
Joint Commission on Cooperation
Headed by:
the Foreign Ministers of both countries
Grouping Kuwait joined:
International Solar Alliance
Energy programme discussed:
India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve Programme
Why it matters for exams: India's bilateral institutional mechanisms, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the membership of the International Solar Alliance are all examinable in their own right.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ISA International Solar Alliance — The India-initiated grouping for the deployment of solar energy.
Strategic Petroleum Reserve India's emergency crude oil stockpile programme — Underground storage meant to cushion India against supply disruptions.