DFA hopes to resume OFW deployment talks with Kuwait

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega faces the media in a press conference at the department’s office in Pasay City in this file photo taken on August 11, 2022. The Department of Foreign Affairs is now hoping talks with Kuwait, regarding the deployment of Filipino workers, will resume. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is hoping to “sit down” and discuss the possible resumption of Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) deployment in Kuwait, said the Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday.

This comes after a Kuwaiti juvenile court convicted 17-year-old Turki Ayed Al-Azmi for the gruesome killing of OFW Jullebee Ranara.

In a phone interview with INQUIRER.net, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said it is a “positive step” that the Ranara family has secured justice and that they acknowledge the efforts of Kuwait.

“We are hoping to sit down again with Kuwait so that we can talk about the current situation and find solutions,” said de Vega.

“Depending on what our colleagues in the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) also feel, I think we can request Kuwait to resume our talks so that we see how we can move forward so we could eventually lift the suspensions on both sides,” he added.

To recall, the murder of Ranara early 2023 prompted the DMW to temporarily stop processing applications of first time OFWs bound for Kuwait.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior, on the other hand, has suspended the issuance of all types of entry visas for Filipinos.

JPV