Kuwait Licenses Artificial Intelligence Services as a Standalone Commercial Activity

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has added "artificial intelligence services and solutions and related services" to the list of licensable commercial activities in Kuwait. Ministerial Decision No. 159 of 2026, issued on 30 July 2026 and published in Kuwait Al-Youm Issue 1803 on 9 August 2026, creates the new activity under international code 620106 in the information and communications sector, in line with the GCC unified classification of economic activities.

The Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) is named as the supervising regulator for the new activity, following a request from its board chairman in July. In practice, an AI provider will hold a commercial licence from the Ministry while operating under CITRA's regulatory oversight, the same structure applied to telecommunications and other regulated technology services. The decision took effect on issuance.

Until now, companies offering AI development, machine-learning tools, or AI consulting in Kuwait were licensed under general software and IT activity codes. A dedicated code lets founders incorporate with an activity description that matches what they actually do, and gives banks, government buyers, and counterparties a clear classification for AI vendors.

WEFAQ's view: companies already providing AI services under a general IT licence should consider adding the new activity to their commercial licence and commercial register, and should review CITRA's existing rules on data and cloud services, which will shape how the activity is supervised in practice.

Read more: for the full analysis, read our companion blog article: "Kuwait Gives Artificial Intelligence Its Own Licence: What Technology Businesses Should Do Now".