Statement of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano on the Situation in Kuwait
SINGAPORE 28 April 2018 - The Philippines is currently engaged in discussions with Kuwait to address recent concerns arising from our determined efforts to answer the calls for help of a number of our kababayans who are working in Kuwait.
In pursuing these discussions, we remain guided by the President’s policy that the protection of the rights and welfare of Filipinos overseas is paramount. The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment have been carrying out this policy by ensuring that we always come to the aid of Filipinos in distress anywhere in the world. The policy — and our resolve to pursue it — will not waver.
We remain convinced that the actions we took in Kuwait are a rightful exercise of our duty under international law to protect our nationals abroad. Our actions are consistent both with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
We are committed to find a way with our counterparts in Kuwait to achieve our shared goal of strengthening our bilateral relations based on what we hope would be a common desire to ensure the well-being of our kababayans there. If we reach agreement on this, the ties between our two countries would become stronger than ever.
In the meantime, we would like to request the kind understanding of the media and the public as we ask for diplomatic space while resolving these pending concerns with Kuwait. END