Because of economic and social factors .. Kuwait is the most polarized Saudis in the Gulf

Nadia Al Dabbas - Kuwait

Abu Nasser, 38, cannot afford to live outside Kuwait for more than a week. When he leaves, he soon feels nostalgic for the land where he was born, just as his father and grandfather were.

Abu Nasser, a Saudi national who belongs to one of the Arab tribes, lived in the border triangle between Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and possesses documents that prove his residence in Kuwait during the census that took place in the country in 1958.

Abu Nasser's father, who was born in Kuwait in 1959, studied all stages in Kuwaiti schools, as did all his sons.

Abu Nasser, who works in the private sector, has many relatives inside Kuwait, many of whom are married to Kuwaiti women, and the vast majority of them work in government sectors and state ministries.

He says many of his Saudi friends work in the private sector, including those who own his own businesses and shops that have returned to them with lucrative profits and allowed them to buy a house in Kuwait.

Back to Saudi Arabia
"As a GCC national, my treatment in Kuwait puts me on an equal footing with Kuwaitis, so I can own my own business, as well as preference in salaries and privileges if I work in the sector," he said. Year. "

Abu Nasser does not deny that many of his Saudi counterparts believe that services in Kuwait are better, and that mobility is easier no matter how far away from his home and workplace, due to the small size of Kuwait, a feature that is not available in the vast areas of Saudi Arabia.

Abu Nasser, for example, says that a Saudi citizen living in Riyadh can get a job in the distant Jeddah or Dammam, and when he moves away he becomes away from his family, which makes him feel like an expatriate in his country.

Kuwait is home to the largest Saudi community living in the Gulf region after its country of origin.Kuwait is the most attractive Gulf country for both sexes to work there.Almost 150,000 Saudis live on its land, according to a report by the General Authority for Civil Information, the body responsible for statistics and census in the country.

According to the report, the Saudis are ranked sixth in the list of highest nationalities in Kuwait, while India and Egypt remained in first and second, followed by Bangladesh and the Philippines, and sevenths Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, while Jordanians came in tenth place.

Historical relations
There are many reasons why Saudis are staying in Kuwait, which is driven by the community as well as the economic factor. Socially, there are historical relations between the two countries and similarities between their communities due to the overlap between families and tribes in Kuwait, which has an extension in Saudi Arabia, and vice versa.

This overlap was reinforced by the existence of many cases of intermarriage between the two sides, there are Kuwaiti women married to Saudis, and Kuwaitis married to Saudi women, and of course the ease of transition between the two countries had the greatest impact in this.

On the economic front, there are many factors attracting Saudis to work and reside in Kuwait, and the economic analyst Ali Al-Enezi puts on top of them the financial incentives they receive, especially with the decision issued by the Kuwaiti government in 2014 to equalize the salaries of Gulf workers in the government sector with their Kuwaiti counterparts.

Al-Enezi also believes - in his talk to Al-Jazeera Net - that the presence of greater employment opportunities in Kuwait is pushing Saudis men and women to stay in Kuwait.

In the private sector, according to Al-Enezi, the Kuwaiti trade law permits the issuance of licenses to residents of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as are Kuwaitis, most of whom are traders and businessmen in various sectors of the Kuwaiti market.

individual income
The high per capita income in Kuwait compared to Saudi Arabia is another attraction, and the cost of living in Kuwait is at its lowest level due to the strength of the Kuwaiti dinar.

Al-Enezi said that Kuwait has more facilities and opportunities than the rest of the GCC, which some of them impose taxes or put high-value fees on business, such as in Dubai, for example, while Kuwait is less in the tax level.

Economist Maitham Al-Shakhs said that most Saudis in Kuwait work in the public sector, particularly in the ministries of interior and defense, not in the private sector.

He explained - in his interview with Al Jazeera Net - that the Saudis, including the owners of private professions, including workers in the private sector, including dealers with licenses, and many of them are not necessarily residents, where they extract these licenses and support them for expatriates of other nationalities to work.

According to Maytham al-Shakhs, the Saudis score high among the licensees of the companies, although the majority of the capital is still Kuwaiti. Especially after the recent promotions witnessed by the stock exchange and the results of which increased foreign investment in part of the listed shares.

According to the economic analyst, there are many factors that enhance the Saudi presence in Kuwait, including income and high salaries compared to other Gulf countries, including the view of Kuwaitis to Saudis as cousins, and to Saudi Arabia as a Gulf depth of their country.