Kuwaiti Minister of State for Economic Affairs Mariam Al-Aqeel on Sunday said that the recruitment of foreign workers to the country is based on labor contracts and according to the needs of the local market.

"The figures circulated recently in the media about the entry of large numbers monthly of Egyptian community to the country is incorrect," Al-Aqeel told reporters at the headquarters of the General Secretariat for Planning.

She stressed that the local statistics figures in Kuwait show that the real monthly rate of entry of this ingathering to Kuwait between 1400 and 2200 per month in the private sector.

The Minister noted that the total work permits for Egyptian workers issued in 2018 amounted to 62,000 and 23,000 of them were canceled over 2018, pointing out that the Egyptian labor that entered the government sector last year amounted to 577 workers, mostly teachers.

Regarding the implantation of the new national labor rates in the private sector, Al-Aqeel affirmed that the postponement of the application of the new decision due to technical reasons, where work is underway to reclassify the work and amend the regulations in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Al-Aqeel stressed the readiness of the bodies affiliated to her ministry to achieve more during the coming period, whether with regard to the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development or the General Authority for Manpower and other bodies.