UPDATE 1-Dow Chemical CEO to Obama: Jobs must dominate speech

* CEO seeks "certainty" from State of the Union

* Says Dow plans to hire up to 1,500 in coming months

* Says relationship with Kuwait is "stronger than ever"

By Ernest Scheyder

NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Dow Chemical (DOW.N) Chief Executive Andrew Liveris says President Obama must talk exclusively about job creation in his State of the Union address, and that the chemical maker's relationship with Kuwait remains strong.

Obama must "focus on one thing: get the job equation back so we can fix this economy," Andrew Liveris told CNBC on Wednesday from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "Give us the trajectory where we can see employment in the U.S. as an ongoing, sustainable thing."

For his part, Liveris said his company is in a "growth mode," and that Dow will hire up to 1,500 more workers in the next year and a half, mostly in Michigan.

"Business needs certainty," said Liveris, who also sits on the board of directors of Citigroup (C.N). "Volatility is our greatest enemy."

Liveris, who has not shied in the past from publicly commenting on politics and policy, encouraged Obama to remove "all the vulgarities from the debate."

"If you can't pass health care, then tell us that," he said. "If you can't do climate change or cap-and-trade, tell us that."

Obama is set to address a joint session of Congress at 9 p.m. EST on Wednesday. It will be broadcast on most major networks.

KUWAIT

Dow Chemical's relationship with Kuwait, which backed out of a multibillion-dollar joint venture late in 2008, remains "stronger than ever," Liveris said.

Dow had expected about $7 billion in cash from the venture with a Kuwaiti state-owned company, but at the last minute the company pulled out of the deal, leaving Dow to scramble fast to fund part of its buyout of Rohm & Haas.

That buyout, part of Liveris's plan to transform Dow into a specialty chemicals company, heavily burdened the company with debt.

The comments came as Dow -- despite the failed joint venture -- presses forward on other investments in Kuwait.

Liveris declined to comment on current settlement negotiations with Kuwait over the failed joint venture, or a potential new joint venture in the region.

Shares of Midland, Michigan-based Dow Chemical rose 30 cents to $28.39 in premarket trading. The stock has traded between $5.89 and $31.66 in the past 52 weeks.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder, editing by Dave Zimmerman)