Pakistan urges Kuwait to review visa restrictions

-FM visits Kuwait, seeks boost in existing trade, investment 

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan gives much importance to its bilateral and economic relations with Kuwait.

According to Foreign Office, talking to his Kuwaiti counterpart Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah in Kuwait City, Qureshi said that Kuwait had supported Pakistan in every critical situation.

He said that Pakistan and its people had great respect for the people and the government of Kuwait.

Speaking on the occasion, the Kuwaiti foreign minister said that services of Pakistan’s diaspora in Kuwait were appreciable as they were “brave and hard working”.

Qureshi said that Pakistan wanted to further boost the existing economic relations with Kuwait, adding that more than 0.1 million overseas Pakistanis were playing a dynamic role in the development of Kuwait.

The Pakistani diaspora in Gulf countries wanted to get access to Kuwait’s markets, he said, asking for relaxation in visa facilities as these restrictions were a hurdle in getting access to Kuwait’s markets.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan had taken effective measures to curb the use of illegal documents for traveling purposes. In this regard, the Kuwait government is urged 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.

Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah said, “Pakistan is our brotherly Muslim country and the role of Pakistani community in the development of Kuwait is appreciable.”

The foreign minister thanked the Kuwaiti counterpart on supporting Pakistan’s stance during the recent Pak-India crisis.

He also thanked him on supporting Pakistan on the issue of human rights violations in Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IoK).