Goldsmith: Respected profession in Kuwait
KUWAIT: Kuwait’s human rights record has been widely praised by concerned international agencies, said an official yesterday. “The political leadership attaches great importance to human rights issue”, said Kuwait’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Ambassador Sami Al-Hamad. His remarks came in a speech at the first Kuwaiti-Filipino technical meeting on the South Asian country’s labor in Kuwait.
In the meeting, Ambassador Al-Hamad stressed Kuwait’s keenness to cater for the rights of all residents, including the Filipino community, within the framework of laws in force. He praised the positive role played by this community in various sectors of Kuwait, pointing out that this meeting strengthens the friendly relations between the two countries and their desire to overcome the recent crisis regarding the domestic workers’ issue.
He assured the full readiness to cooperate with the Philippines to resolve all employment-related issues in line with local laws and regulations. He also referred to Kuwait’s “deep and friendly” relations with the Philippines, which are based on trust and cooperation in accordance with international charters and laws. For his part, the Philippine’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Domestic Workers’ Affairs Renato Ibarley praised Kuwait’s concern toward Filipino workers.
He stressed that bilateral relations are on “high levels,” hoping to discuss the employment contracts in detail, including the provisions of housing and food, keeping of passports and cell phones, and opening of bank accounts for domestic workers. He also expressed his appreciation to attend such a meeting, which he described as “complementary” to the agreement reached last May on organizing Philippines domestic employment in Kuwait. “In order to reach positive results, the Philippine is keen to implement the legal aspects to complete the agreement,” Ibarley explained. —KUNA