Kuwait should reduce its expat population to 30 percent from the present 70 percent, said Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah amidst coronavirus pandemic and the slump in oil prices.
At present, expatriates account for about 3.4 million of the 4.8 million population in Kuwait. This is a “big imbalance”, and it is a future challenge for Kuwait to redress this imbalance, said Sheikh Sabah.
According to National Bank of Kuwait’s predictions, the country’s shortfall will touch 40 percent of GDP in the fiscal year that began on 1st April, the most ever-since the 1991 Gulf War and its impact.
The Prime Minister, in his comments stressed on the need for the country to diversify its economy away from its 90 percent dependency on oil.
He said two dozen companies have been referred to public prosecutors, and as per information they broke laws by trading in residency permits, a practice that illegally brings in overseas workers into the country and transfers them between employers.
“We are responsible for everyone who lives on this land and the residency trade has exhausted the state and the services in all institutions, especially when dealing with the current situation,” he said.
