Kuwait Times, Sunday, Jun 26, 2022 | Zul Qaadah 26, 1443
Kuwait prepares framework for northern economic zone
Kuwait:
A ministerial committee has begun procedures to prepare a clear framework for
work environment in the northern economic zone as it awaits a new government,
following the National Assembly elections in few months. Official sources said
the 15 government entities that are members of the committee must complete their
job in the next nine months before the new 2023-2024 budget which starts by
April 2023.
There should be practical mechanisms to establish an economic zone in northern
Kuwait – with a legal investment structure. The sources said that the work plan
targets 2025 as a date to implement the economic zone project, adding that the
government will create an Authority (in 2025) which will be named the Northern
Economic Zone Authority.
Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary General Dr Nayef
Al-Hajraf has welcomed the planned meeting between GCC commerce ministers and UK
International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan in Riyadh on Wednesday. In a
press statement, the GCC chief stated that the GCC states are interested in
bolstering economic and trade cooperation with the United Kingdom. He admired
the constructive moves taken by both sides to achieve this goal since their
latest meeting in London last October. Al-Hajraf noted that they have discussed
during this meeting signing a joint free trade agreement to signal a new
milestone in GCC-UK relations.
Labor ban mulled
In other news, Kuwait government is studying a proposal to ban all types of
visas given to expatriates from 10 countries, mostly African, because they do
not have embassies in Kuwait, local media reported. Kuwait’s Interior Ministry
is currently considering banning all types of visas to citizens of 10 countries,
including seven African states: Madagascar, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Benin,
Mali and Congo.
The three other non-African countries have not been identified. According to an
Arabic daily report, these countries do not have embassies in Kuwait although
there are thousands of their citizens working in the country, making the
deportation of violators and those involved in crimes difficult. Sources said
the deportation of convicted expatriate residents from the 10 countries is very
complex and time-consuming process – posing a threat to the country’s security.
Another reason is that there are no direct flights between Kuwait and these
countries. Local media indicated that some violators from these countries
deliberately conceal or destroy their passports, making it difficult for
security services because there are no embassies in Kuwait where they can get
travel documents issued for the deported people to be able to leave the country.
Many convicted people from the 10 countries have been in jail for long time
because they destroyed their documents. Kuwait resorted to the embassies of
their countries in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to get their official documents
issued in order
to deport them.