The Civil Service Commission (CSC) plans to freeze 3,108 contracts of expatriates by July 1 to make way for the Kuwaiti ministries and government institutions to recruit Kuwaitis, reports AlRai daily.

The move is part of the government’s strategy to give Kuwaitis more employment opportunities. In last November, the CSC told all public departments to submit their plans to replace expatriates with Kuwaitis as part of a national drive to cut down on the rate of unemployment among Kuwaitis.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it needed some time to respond to the queries while the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor said that it was just waiting for the formal signatures. Ministry of Education, with its high number of foreign teachers and staff, has yet to respond to the queries.