Kuwait says ready to discuss conditions of the Filipino workers

KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait is ready to discuss conditions of the Filipino community and to follow up on their problems, Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Sulaiman Al-Jarallah said on Sunday.

He made the remarks after a meeting between Kuwaiti officials and the Philippines' Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa, summoned by the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry.

In the meeting, the Kuwaiti side expressed regret and bewilderment toward Philippine president's decision to suspend dispatch of workers to Kuwait, said Jarallah.

Noting that such a stance contradicts the nature of the distinctive ties between the two countries and does not serve their common interests, he said the status of the Filipino workers in Kuwait cannot be assessed based on individual cases.

The Filipino envoy praised the cooperation between the two countries and pledged to propose to his government to end the ban soon.

The Philippines ordered on Friday evening the suspension of workers to Kuwait as the government was investigating the deaths of seven overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Gulf state.

The ban on the deployment of workers in Kuwait came a day after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte revealed that the Philippines lost several Filipino women workers in Kuwait over the past months.

The Philippines is one of the primary sources of domestic workers abroad, including the Middle East like Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said there are about 250,000 Filipinos working in Kuwait, most as domestic helpers. Enditem