Global - Technology - Review

Kuwait is a small, oil-rich state at the western end of the Persian Gulf. It has about 10% of the world’s proven oil resources. The 1990 annexation by Iraq, and subsequent intervention by an American-led coalition, left the country’s infrastructure seriously damaged. Oil spillages made much of the country uninhabitable. The country is low lying and consists almost entirely of sandy desert in which agriculture is virtually impossible. As a result Kuwait imports most of its food and drinking water. There are plans to reduce the dependence on oil revenues by developing tourism. Kuwaiti cuisine traditionally depended on seafood, however now it can be described as international. The architecture is a blend of the modern and the Islamic. This can be seen in the iconic Kuwait Towers, conical spires supporting massive spherical water tanks, suggestive of minarets. Sawt is the predominant music style, played on the ‘ud, a plucked lute, and drums, accompanied by male dancers. Kuwait has a well-developed system of highways. Though there are no railways, a metro system is planned. There are several islands in the Gulf, only one of which is inhabited. Unusually the majority of Kuwait’s residents do not hold Kuwaiti citizenship.