Kuwait Denies Visa Bans

Kuwait categorically denied media reports that it planned to stop issuing entry visas for some nationalities, affirming that issuance of visa was a “sovereignty matter.” The foreign ministry “categorically denies these claims and affirms that these reported nationalities (which he did not mention) have big communities in Kuwait and enjoy full rights,” Sami Al-Hamad, Assistant foreign Minister for Consular Affairs, said in a statement to KUNA.

Al-Hamad said citizens of those countries mentioned by social media visited Kuwait regularly through direct commercial flights. Business people from Kuwait and those countries are bound to commercial relations, he explained. “The State of Kuwait believes that granting of visa is a sovereign matter, and is not linked to terrorism or violence or nationality or faith,” he said.

The US President Donald Trump commenting on what has been published by the pro-government Russian news agency ‘Sputnik News’ that Kuwait has banned the entry of nationals of five countries — Syria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan — for whatsoever reason, called the move ‘smart’, reports Al-Rai daily.

Trump on his personal official account on ‘Facebook’ posted a link of a report claiming that Kuwait has a ‘Trump’ list to prevent the citizens of five Muslim-majority countries from entering its territory. The report posted by Trump has received almost 18,000 comments and 58,000 posts in just a few hours. The post has used one of the old pictures of the session of the National Assembly of Kuwait. 

Source: http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/kuwait-denies-visa-bans/