Filipino Ambassador in Kuwait Renato PO Villa speaks during a press conference at the Philippines embassy in Kuwait City on April 21, 2018.

:: Kuwait has formally asked the Philippines ambassador to leave the country within a week and has also summoned its own envoy back from Manila.

An official source at Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the ministry summoned on Friday ambassador of the Philippines to Kuwait and handed him two protest notes, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

The source stated that the two protest notes are related to recent remarks of several Filipino officials which entailed serious offences against the State of Kuwait and the actions made by some Philippine embassy’s employees in violation of the diplomatic norms governing the relations of the two countries as per the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The source expressed regret over such practices which could harm friendly relations between the two countries.

The Philippines on Tuesday formally apologized to Kuwait for actions the latter viewed as violation of its sovereignty after the southeast Asian nation’s embassy “rescued” several overseas workers from employers’ homes, the foreign secretary said.

Kuwait had protested over the “rescue” of Philippine citizens working as domestic help, summoned the Philippine ambassador to demand an explanation and arrested two embassy staff who were involved in Saturday’s incidents.