Kuwait is mulling a plan to offer citizenship to skilled
foreign workers as it struggles to compete with Dubai for expatriate talent, a
government advisor has said.
The Gulf state needs to attract top-level workers if it is
to diversify its economy away from oil revenues, said Dr Sami Alfaraj,
president of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies.
“We could not have managed the oil industry without expats…
especially at the beginning. If we are thinking about new avenues of industry
and technology to beat others we need more people specialising in that,” said
Dr Alfaraj, who has advised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of
the Prime Minister.
Kuwait’s view is that “Dubai gets the crème of expats and we
get the lower end, especially the uneducated ones.”
The world’s fourth largest oil exporter is keen to diversify
its oil-dependent economy and emulate the success of commercial hub Dubai, but
has struggled to pass key reforms following long-standing political rows
between parliament and the government.
Kuwait’s parliament is considering giving citizenship to top
expatriate workers and their families as a means to fast-track the overhaul of
its economy, Dr Alfaraj said.
“As long as we have the Kuwaiti parliament they will push
for more nationalisation policies. Kuwaitis see the expat community as part of
the fabric of society.”
The Gulf state has made efforts to overhaul its labour laws,
announcing last year it would scrap its worker sponsorship system in favour of
allowing businessmen to sponsor themselves.
Mohammed Al-Ifasi, Kuwait’s Minister of Social Affairs and
Labour, has said the country may scrap its existing sponsorship network,
commonly known as the ‘kafeel’ system.
In its place, expatriates would be allowed to transfer their
work permits without gaining the consent of the current sponsors, and would
allow certain businessmen in underserviced sectors to sponsor themselves.
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