In what comes as a significant relief for overseas job seekers of Pakistan, authorities in Kuwait have agreed to resume issuing visas to Pakistani nationals, ending almost after a decade-long ban, reported Dawn.  The move came after a meeting between Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah and Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed in Kuwait City. Kuwait will start issuing visas to Pakistanis families and businessmen. 

Technical visas in the fields of medical and oil industry will also be issued. 

Earlier, Kuwait stopped issuing visas for the nationals of Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Syria, citing security-related concerns since 2011. Since then, the Pakistani government has repeatedly requested the Kuwaiti government to lift the visa ban. 

Remittances received from Pakistani overseas workers support Pakistan’s economy in a significant way. In 2020, it touched $24 billion--the highest it received so far in a single year. In a recent address to Pakistan’s foreign service officials, Imran Khan, the country’s prime minister, said Pakistan would have gone bankrupt by now if it had not been to the remittances sent by overseas workers. 

Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid thanked the Kuwaiti prime minister, saying the move will open job opportunities to thousands of Pakistanis. 

The press release quoted the Kuwaiti prime minister as saying that relations between the two countries spanned over seven decades and people of the countries had been enjoying relations based on love and trust.