Kuwait: At least 700,000 Indians may be required to leave Kuwait after the Gulf country declared a draft law, proposing a quota for expatriates, as constitutional. The legal and legislative committee of the Kuwait's National Assembly approved the bill in order to reduce the number of foreign workers that would reportedly impact about 7 to 800,000 Indians. This development has alarmed the Indian government.
The Bill, which proposes that the number of Indians should not exceed 15 per cent of the country’s 4.8 million population, will be transferred to another committee for a comprehensive plan to be chalked out. Indians number about 1.4 million in Kuwait, forming the largest expatriate community in the country followed by Egyptians. The bill proposes similar quotas for people belonging to other nations, too. With Kuwaitis turning into a minority in their own country, the bill is seen as a manifestation of the fact that Kuwait no longer wants to remain an expat-majority nation and is working on reducing its dependence on foreign workers.
Kuwait is also a top source of remittances for India. In 2018, India received close to $4.8 billion from Kuwait as remittances. With its own citizens turning into a minority, Kuwait has been working to reduce its dependence on foreign workers. The bill is seen as a manifestation of the fact that Kuwait no longer wants to remain an expat-majority nation. Covid-19 and the slump in oil prices have also been contributing factors. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Gulf News reported last week, there has been a spike in anti-expat rhetoric as lawmakers and governmental officials call for reducing the number of foreigners in Kuwait. In the middle of this, Kuwait’s PM Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah proposed reduction in the number of expats from 70% to 30% of the total population.
Official sources said the Indian embassy was closely following developments related to the proposed legislation. India has so far not made any statement on the issue. India has often in the past played up the role of the Indian community in Kuwait as an important factor in bilateral ties. As the ministry of external affairs says, Indians are present in all segments of society in Kuwait and are largely considered disciplined, hardworking and law-abiding. The Indian embassy in 2009 had set up an Indian Workers’ Welfare Centre which provides a labour complaint redressal mechanism and accommodation for domestic workers in distress, a work contract attestation system, a toll free 24x7 telephone helpline, a free legal advice clinic and also a helpdesk to guide Indian nationals on problems faced by them.
