Saudi Arabia lifts ban on Bangladeshi workers

Saudi

The Saudi Arabian government has lifted ban on recruiting Bangladeshi workers after seven years.

Quoting Md Shahidul Islam, Bangladeshi ambassador to Riyadh, Abdullah Al-Mamun, deputy secretary of Ministry of Expatriate’s Welfare and Overseas Employment, told about the decision to the Dhaka Tribune.

The Ministry of Labour of Saudi Arabia overturned the ban on the recruitment of Bangladeshi manpower on Sunday, said Mamun.

A high level Saudi delegation comprising representatives of concerned KSA ministries will visit Bangladesh within a week, he added.

This measure comes after a visit to Saudi Arabia on January 21 by Bangladeshi Labour Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain.

During the visit, Khandker Mosharraf met Saudi Arabian Labour Minister Adel Fakeih at his office.

Following the meeting, Fakeih expressed optimism about the improvement and development of the relationship between the two ministries.

Pointing out that he was mainly interested in hiring skilled manpower from Dhaka, he stressed the need to find appropriate procedures and mechanisms in the deployment of the Bangladeshi work force in the Kingdom which would benefit the people of both countries.

Mosharraf said Bangladesh has a data center which has registered more than 2.2 million workers for foreign employment.

“These workers have undergone the necessary training to support their respective vocations,” he said, pointing out that the skilled workers are also sent from Dhaka to countries such as Malaysia, South Korea and Hong Kong.

In 2008, the Kingdom imposed ban on Bangladeshi manpower export to Saudi Arabia.

Source: Dhaka Tribune