ABSTRACT
The importance of financial institution building in the Arab states in the mid-1970s could be appreciated when placed in historical perspective. Kuwayt played a unique role in the development of Arab financial institutions by initiating a variety of new financial intermediaries. The Arab financial framework being erected should make possible major shifts in internal and external economic relations, and it should provide a major new point of political leverage in the world. The monumental sums committed to internal development and external aid was of particular significance. The quantum jump in oil revenues accruing to the Arab oil states rapidly enlarged the available options in domestic, regional, and world politics and greatly enlarged the potential influence of existing governments. The multiplying Arab financial institutions were accompanied by overlapping functions and areas of interest, particularly in foreign aid where national and multinational Arab programs and projects were hastily framed with only scant knowledge of foreign operational environments.
