Minister: Kuwait will no longer employ expats in oil sector

Kuwait’s Minister of Oil and acting Minister of Electricity and Water, Dr. Khaled Al Fadil announced yesterday that the Gulf state will no longer hire expatriate workers in state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiaries for the year 2020-21.

The minister also announced, during a parliamentary session held to discuss the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, that the number of special contracts awarded to expats will be reduced.

The virus, he said, was a global pandemic which had affected international markets and caused oil prices to plummet, but the oil market has recovered and prices are now increasing.

He stressed the need for the private sector to participate in strengthening the national economy.

Late last week, Kuwait’s Cabinet agreed to cut government budgets by at least 20 per cent during the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

Kuwait’s dependence on oil is to blame, with hydrocarbon sales accounting for an estimated 90 per cent of total government income, Bloomberg reported.

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