“Better late than never.” This saying applies to the recent initiative of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef to launch and immediately implement the Visa Platform, which aims to ease the process of obtaining various types of visas. This is a blessed step, as Kuwait is an open society and treats its visitors in an affable manner.
This was not realized by the former MPs and influential figures who used to control the decisions of successive governments, while the latter used to fear their loud voices. The former MPs and influential figures insisted on closing the country to the public, under the illusion that those coming to Kuwait would change the demography of society or deduct a portion from the citizens’ share. For more than 25 years, we have been waiting for Kuwait to return to its former glory. We have long been calling for Kuwait to open its doors and ignore flimsy excuses, such as preventing women from visiting their families in Kuwait unless they provide a certificate that they are not pregnant.
This condition is a unique Kuwaiti invention. Family visits serve commercial activity, while business or tourist visits stimulate the hotel and restaurant market and boost commercial activity in general. In numerous occasions, we have seen how markets are crowded with visitors and the economy flourishes. Your Highness, the Prime Minister, the mission of any government is to boost the gross domestic product (GDP) and provide initiatives that encourage people. Your Highness, you are an expert in this field. Unfortunately, this has not happened in Kuwait for the past three decades.
This situation forced young entrepreneurs and the owners of small and medium enterprises to migrate to neighboring countries, where they found better facilities than what their own country provides. This is just one of many crystal clear examples. In some Gulf countries, entry visas are issued online within a few minutes. This is why other Gulf countries receive millions of people annually. Last year, Dubai Airport received 92.3 million passengers.
In just a few months, the duty-free market generated revenues of approximately AED 8 billion. Qatar’s Hamad International Airport received 52 million passengers. Saudi airports received more than 128 million passengers, while Kuwait International Airport catered to only seven million passengers. This is another example of what Kuwait loses annually due to its closures.
These developments would not have happened in other Gulf states without opening their countries and cities to the tourists, visitors, and transit passengers. In Kuwait, some officials -- inspired by some former MPs -- attempted to close Kuwait International Airport to transit passengers, claiming that a female passenger might be dressed indecently or that another passenger might not adhere to Islamic law. As a result of these backward decisions, Kuwait lost a lot, as shown in comparative statistics. Last year, the UAE’s GDP exceeded $482 billion, compared to $134 billion for Kuwait. This is one of the consequences of limited non-oil trade activity, which has not allowed financial inflows from abroad and encouraged capital to fly out of Kuwait.
When expatriates are unable to reunite with their families, they go to their families and spend their money there. When a citizen cannot find any entertainment destination in his homeland, he looks for it in a country that offers such a destination with more facilities. For everything mentioned above, the ‘Visa Platform’ is a step for which the government, especially First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Yousef Al-Sabah, should be commended. We hope there are no obstacles that could disrupt this platform, as well as restrictions or exaggerated requirements that could bring Kuwait back to closure.
I would like to emphasize that the Council of Ministers and His Highness the Prime Minister must open the way for everything that enables Kuwait to restore its open era, to focus on what pleases the people, and to ensure the continuity of activities in all sectors. Kuwait deserves a great deal of goodness. I hope that officials will realize this fact. To conclude, I would like to say to His Highness the Prime Minister that the customers in markets include visitors, not just expatriates.
