(Bloomberg) -- Kuwait’s government projects a cumulative budget deficit of 55.4 billion dinars ($183 billion) in the five fiscal years ending on March 31, 2025, Finance Minister Khalifa Hamada said in a statement.

Kuwait Seeks Approval to Use Wealth Fund to Finance Deficit

Total expenses during that period are projected at 114.1 billion dinars, with 71%, or 81 billion dinars, allocated to salaries and subsidies, the minister said. Issuing bonds and withdrawing cash from the country’s sovereign wealth fund aren’t solutions to reform and are merely temporary measures to finance the deficit, Hamada said.

The minister also said:

• The country must address its liquidity problem as soon as possible, while implementing reforms to cut spending and boost non-oil income.
• Statement comes in response to a draft bill the government submitted to parliament that would allow withdrawals from the Future Generations Fund.

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