RIYADH: Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed Kuwait government’s long-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings at A1 with the outlook remaining stable. Ratings reflect Moody’s assessment that Kuwait’s balance sheet and fiscal buffers will remain strong for the foreseeable future, which preserve macroeconomic and external stability and anchor the credit profile. The stable outlook reflects balanced risks to the ratings, Moody’s said. Kuwait’s effective implementation of measures to reduce exposure to oil revenue and diversify the economy, may raise the resilience of the country’s credit profile to oil price fluctuations. Kuwait’s local and foreign currency country ceilings remain unchanged at Aa2. Ratings for Egypt Moody’s affirmed the long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer ratings of the Egyptian government at B2 and changed the outlook to negative from stable. It has also affirmed Egypt’s foreign-currency senior unsecured ratings at B2, and its foreign-currency senior unsecured MTN program rating at (P)B2. The negative outlook came from the rising downside risks to the sovereign’s external shock absorption capacity in light of a significant narrowing in the foreign exchange reserve buffer to meet upcoming external debt service payments, Moody’s said. The B2 rating is supported by the government’s pro-active crisis response and track record of economic and fiscal reform implementation over the past six years. Egypt’s strong trend GDP growth supports economic resiliency and the prospect of attracting foreign direct investments in line with the government’s privatization strategy.