The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed a deal to recruit 19 categories of workers from Bangladesh, paving the way for opening up the much-awaiting job market in the Gulf country very soon.
Namita Halder, secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEWOE) and Saif Ahmed Musabah Al Suwaidi, under-secretary of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, on Wednesday.
Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli, Minister for the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, was present at the agreement-signing ceremony, among others, according to a press release issued by the MoEWOE.
The UAE has not been hiring manpower from Bangladesh for about six years after the oil-rich Middle-eastern country had stopped recruiting workers from here in 2012.
The Bangladesh government has been negotiating with the authority of the UAE to reopen the job market since then.
According to the press release, all necessary elements including recruitment mechanisms, role of manpower hiring agencies, sending and host countries, workers' security, benefits etc., have been mentioned in the MoU.
Besides, a joint committee will be formed with the concerned officials from both countries to implement the MoU.
Talking to the FE Benjir Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), considered the deal as the process of reopening the UAE job market for Bangladeshis.
"It is good news for Bangladeshi workers," he said, adding that they hoped within a short period the Arab country will resume recruitment of workers from Bangladesh.
More than 2.3 million Bangladeshis went to the UAE with jobs between 1976 and March 2018, according to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET).
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