ISLAMABAD – Kuwait decided to resume family and business visas to Pakistani nationals after a decade-long suspension, Interior Minister Shaikh Rasheed announced Sunday.
The development comes after Rasheed met with Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah in Kuwait city. Kuwaiti Interior Minister Thamer Ali Sabah Al-Salem and Pakistan’s envoy to Kuwait Syed Sajjad Haider were also present in the crucial meeting.
Reports suggest that the interior minister handed over a special letter of Prime Minister Imran Khan to his Kuwaiti counterpart. The ministry of interior issued a press release following the meeting, which stated that Kuwait had decided ‘immediate restoration’ of family and business visas for Pakistanis. Pakistani workers would also get Kuwait’s visas according to the agreement, the statement reads.
A post shared on Rasheed’s official handle stated that ‘there will be no restriction on visas for Pakistani professionals in the medical and oil sectors while the trade between the two countries will increase after the resumption of business visas’.
کویت: 30مئی 2021
کویت کے وزیراعظم شیخ صباح خالدالحامدالصباح سے ملاقاتکویت کے وزیر داخلہ اور پاکستانی سفیر بھی ملاقات میں موجود
10 سال بعد پاکستانی شہریوں کے لئے کویت ویزا بحال
پاک – کویت دوطرفہ تعلقات سمیت باہمی دلچسپی کےامور پر گفتگو pic.twitter.com/ByzxOt1cKn
— Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (@ShkhRasheed) May 30, 2021
It further added that Pakistani labourers played an important role in Kuwait’s development.
The Kuwaiti PM, while speaking on the occasion, said that the relations between the two sides span over seven decades and there is a relationship of love and trust between the people of Pakistan and Kuwait.
Earlier in 2011, the Middle East country had stopped issuing visas to Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan citing ‘security conditions’. Former governments made several attempts for the restoration of visas for Pakistani citizens but it delayed almost every time.
Kuwait signs agreement with Pakistan for hiring healthcare professionals
Former premier and PM-N supremo Nawaz Sharif had also pleaded for the restoration of visas for Pakistani citizens during his visit to the oil-rich country in 2017.
