Kuwait has unveiled what it hopes will become a US$2 billion (Dh7.34bn) regional fund to support small and medium-sized businesses.

Making the announcement during a meeting to promote development in the Arab region, Kuwait agreed to provide 25 per cent of the target and asked other states to contribute, the Kuwaiti state news agency reported yesterday.

Leaders from 22 Arab states and Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, opened the first Arab Economic, Social and Development Summit in Kuwait yesterday in a bid to boost the economies of the Arab world.

The National