KUWAIT: Kuwait and other GCC countries have reached an agreement to standardize professional tests and develop a mechanism for creating unified Gulf tests for expatriate workers. Informed sources said that Kuwait has completed the test’s preparation for 100 professions and is now following up on the preparation for another 200 professions.

Kuwait has become a pioneer in the field of occupational description and the application of professional tests at all levels. There are 25 professions on which a ministerial decision is being taken by the Manpower Authority, according to which expatriate workers are tested before entering the country. Professionals will attend workshops and undergo tests before entering GCC countries to ensure their efficiency before practicing. The extent of GCC standardization of tests is being studied, and various recommendations have been submitted to the Council of Ministers of Labor and Social Affairs in preparation for their approval.

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti government will form a technical team whose task is to discuss the mechanisms and procedures and crystallize them with executive recommendations to be submitted to the Council of Ministers in preparation for the work of the unified Gulf tourist visa approved by the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in their last meeting in Qatar.

Similar to the Schengen visa regulations that bind the member states of the European Union, the new regulations provide visitors and residents of any one of the six GCC countries with the ability to access the other countries using the same document. The new visa policies will make it easier for tourists and newcomers to travel between the GCC nations, boosting the industry’s status as a catalyst for economic expansion. According to the sources, Kuwait is eager to work closely with the GCC nations to ensure execution and coordination. It will also create new prospects for investment in the tourism sector in each of the member states.