196 Pakistani medical workers sent to Kuwait to fight pandemic

In an attempt to help Kuwait fight the coronavirus pandemic, Pakistan has sent nearly 200 medical workers, Kuwait News Agency reported Tuesday.

The new batch of 196 medical professionals includes 41 doctors, 131 nurses, and 24 technicians, the agency said, adding that they were sent to Kuwait under an agreement between the two countries to combat COVID-19.

Pakistan and Kuwait have signed a bilateral cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the recruitment of healthcare experts from Pakistan, which was signed on July 4, 2020, at the Ministry of Health office in Kuwait.

In October, 208 Pakistani health workers had reached Kuwait to join hands in the battle against the pandemic.

Kuwait's ambassador to Pakistan, Nassar Al-Mutairi, thanked the Pakistani government for providing medical assistance and said that ties between the countries were "rock-solid and unbreakable".

The ambassador, in a statement, said that Kuwait would continue to work with the Pakistani government to enhance cooperation to combat the pandemic.

At a pre-departure briefing of the second team of Pakistani medical professionals to Kuwait, the ambassador said that the Pakistani workforce in Kuwait would help foster bilateral ties.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis, Sayed Zulfikar, according to the publication, said that it was an occasion of extreme gratification that the Pakistani medical workforce was leaving to help Kuwait fight the pandemic.

"These medical professionals are ambassadors of Pakistan," he said, asking the group to uphold the highest values and standards of professionalism during their stay in Kuwait.