Kuwait denies it imposed travel ban liked by Donald Trump

Dubai: Kuwait has denied a media report which said it had imposed a travel ban on citizens from several Muslim-majority countries, a story which U.S. President Donald Trump praised on Facebook. “Smart!” a post on Mr Trump’s official Facebook page said on Thursday, linking to a report on Jordanian news website Al Bawaba which alleged that Kuwait had “mirrored” a decision by the Trump administration to temporarily bar travelers from several countries. The article alleged that “Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians, Pakistanis and Afghans” would not be allowed to enter the Gulf state “while the blanket ban is in place”.

But Kuwait’s foreign ministry refuted the report, which was widely picked up by news websites popular with Trump supporters, including Breitbart, Infowars and Sputnik. Kuwait “categorically denies these claims and affirms that these reported nationalities ... have big communities in Kuwait and enjoy full rights,” a ministry spokesman was quoted as saying on state news agency KUNA. Citizens of the countries mentioned visit Kuwait regularly, it added. Representatives of the proscribed countries condemned the move, but Mr Trump tweeted that the initiative enjoyed support in the region.