COVID-19: Kuwait approves new hiring of health workers from Pakistan

Kuwait City: Following the Cabinet of Ministers meeting on Monday, Kuwaiti state media reported that the government has approved the Ministry of Health’s request to hire health workers from Pakistan to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

This is the fourth batch of medical workers to be recruited from Pakistan since the start of the pandemic.

The decision comes shortly after Kuwait’s Foreign Minister, Dr. Ahmed Al Sabah, travelled to Islamabad to meet with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Mahmoud Qureshi, last month.

Health support

During their meeting, Dr. Ahmed said that he appreciated Pakistan’s continued support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In December, Pakistan sent 196 medical professionals to Kuwait to help combat the COVID-19 virus, after both countries signed a bilateral cooperation agreement in July to enhance cooperation in combating the virus.

The first batch of Pakistani medical professionals, around 208, arrived in Kuwait in October after the MoU was signed.

Pakistanis in Kuwait

Qureshi stated that there were more than 100,000 Pakistanis residing in Kuwait working towards developing the country in various sectors.

As of 2019, there were around 116,000 Pakistanis residing in Kuwait, making up 3.86 per cent of the overall three million expat population.