ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Oman have agreed on the early finalization of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on labor and manpower exchange which would help enhance the South Asian nation’s workforce and facilitate their movement to the Gulf country, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
Millions of Pakistani laborers prefer to live and work in Gulf countries, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE being top destinations for them for decades. These Gulf countries are valuable sources of foreign remittances for Pakistan, which help in stabilizing the country’s external account as it seeks to recover from a fragile economy, a weak currency and inflation.
Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs Chaudhry Salik Hussain is on a three-day visit to Oman where he will meet several ministers of the Gulf country and inaugurate a new branch of the Pakistan International School in Muscat, Radio Pakistan said on Sunday.
“During the meeting, Chaudhry Salik Hussain apprised the Omani side of the major reforms the government was undertaking to improve the emigration process of Pakistani workers, their professional capacity enhancement and the marketing of Pakistani workforce abroad,” the state broadcaster said.
Hussain informed the Omani side that the Minister of Overseas Pakistanis was upgrading its technical training centers in Pakistan along modern lines to train the workforce according to the certification requirement of each individual country or region.
He also said that the ministry was going to start a compulsory “pre-departure orientation program” for all workers going abroad. The program would educate them about the host country’s labor laws, workers’ rights and duties and cultural sensitivities.
Oman’s Labor Minister Dr. Mahad bin Said bin Ali Baowain said Pakistan and Oman enjoy cordial relations and acknowledged that Pakistanis are contributing to Oman’s development, the state broadcaster said.
“He said Pakistanis were very skilled workers and work in a vast variety of fields,” Radio Pakistan reported. “He expressed the commitment of the Government of Oman to streamline the process of migration of workers to Oman and remove any irritants thereof.”
Hussain invited Baowain to see Pakistan’s technical training facilities and proposed the possibility of Oman investing in skill development centers in Pakistan. The two sides agreed to enhance official engagements between the two countries, the state broadcaster said.
