Khaled A. Mahdi

Khaled A. Mahdi (Arabic: خالد مهدي; born 1 January 1970) held the position of the Secretary-General of the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development (GSSCPD) of Kuwait in 2016 till 2024. He succeeded Mr. Hashem Alrefee (2014 - 2015) and Dr. Adel Alweqayan (2014 - 2007). The GSSCPD steers the long-term Kuwait National Development Plan (KNDP), part of the vision for New Kuwait by His Highness the Emir of Kuwait, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, which "mobilizes development efforts across seven pillars with the aim of transforming Kuwait into a financial, cultural, and institutional leader in the region by 2035".

Career Mahdi starting his academic career working in the Water Resource Division in the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Researches before moving to Kuwait University to become Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, where he taught 30 different courses in general engineering, chemical engineering as well as management sciences. He received Kuwait University's Best Teaching Award in 2009 among other honors and awards. Mahdi has authored or co-authored more than 75 journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, patents, and books in different fields. His primary interest is the study of modeling complex systems and process optimization. Mahdi and collaborators also established SYNERGY with Prof. Maytham Safar, Computer Engineering Department at Kuwait University. and several other professional societies.

Supreme Council for Planning and Development Under Mahdi's directorship, the Secretariat has been keen "on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or the 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN in September 2015," and have already "achieved a considerable part of the Sustainable Development Goals" for Post-2015.

A key mission of the KNDP is to create stronger integration between Kuwait's public and private sectors, and in an interview with the Oxford Business Group as part of their Kuwait 2017 report, Mahdi shared that "the government stated very clearly its intentions to transition its role in the economy from an operator to regulator, from wealth distribution to wealth creation, and to entrust the economy to the private sector." Additionally, Mahdi oversees the GSSCPD's engagement in development programming and support of the national development agenda, working with various sectors and segments of the population.

In Mahdi's own words about the implementation of the national plan, the Secretariat looks to build "a solid commercial and financial infrastructure, and this cements us as a financial and commercial hub", through projects like the Knowledge Transfer and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) expo, The knowledge Economy Forum and the Kuwait Public Policy Center (KPPC).

Government and public sector work Since 2016, Mahdi as served as the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development in the Government of Kuwait. and Kuwait Infrastructure Week in 2017.

Mahdi chairs the Consultants Selection Committee during the period 2016-2017 and is the National Director of the Country Program Action Plan of the United Nations Development Programme in Kuwait, and currently presides over the National Committee for the Implementation of Agenda 2030.

Mahdi steers chairs the national SDGs 2030 permanent standing committee and leads the vision of the state, “New Kuwait 2035”. He established the Kuwait Public Policy Center (KPPC) and its Nudge Unit; also oversees the research centers including The National Knowledge Economy Center, the National Sustainable Development Observatory and the National Development Research Center. He also led the initiative to produce Kuwait’s first Macro-Economic Model by collaborating with Oxford Economics. He has also hosted the IPIECA’s report “the Mapping the Oil and Gas Industry to the SDGs: An Atlas”, and the World Energy Outlook 2018’s report of the IEO. Mahdi has also developed strategic partnerships with local, regional and international organizations to support knowledge sharing and development.