Dubai: Visa restrictions for Pakistanis visiting Kuwait are likely to be eased soon.
Emir of Kuwait Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has assured Pakistan that he will make personal efforts to resolve visa restriction issues being faced by the Pakistani community.
The Kuwaiti emir gave this assurance to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who called on him in Kuwait City on Sunday.
The foreign minister apprised the emir of Kuwait about reservations and difficulties being faced by the Pakistani community in Kuwait due to visa restrictions. He also presented special letters from President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan to him.
Kuwait had banned nationals from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan from entering the country in 2011.
Qureshi said that more than 100,000 workforce and experts of Pakistan origin are playing an important role in the development and progress of Kuwait. He said Pakistan attached high importance to its bilateral and economic relations with Kuwait, Dawn news reported.
According to Pakistan Foreign Office, the Kuwaiti foreign minister said services of Pakistani diaspora in Kuwait were appreciable as they were brave and hard working.
Qureshi said that Pakistan wanted to boost the existing economic relations with Kuwait.
The Pakistani diaspora in Gulf countries wanted to get access to Kuwait’s markets, he added. However, visa restriction was a hurdle in getting access to the markets, he added.
Qureshi said Pakistan had taken effective measures to curb the use of illegal documents for travel and requested the Kuwait government to review its visa restriction policy.
The Kuwaiti foreign minister assured Qureshi that the visa policy would be reviewed and all possible cooperation would be extended to Pakistan in this regard.
Qureshi thanked the Kuwaiti minister for supporting Pakistan’s stance during the recent Pak-India crisis and on the issue of human rights violations in India-held Kashmir.
