Pakistan and Oman agreed on early finalization of MoU on labor and manpower exchange which would facilitate the enhancement of Pakistan workforce and its smooth movement from Pakistan to Oman. This was decided in a meeting held in Muscat between Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development and Dr. Mahad bin Said bin Ali Baowain, Minister of Labour of the Sultanate of Oman. Chaudhry Salik Hussain is on a three-day visit to the Sultanate of Oman where he will meet different ministers of Oman and inaugurate a new branch of Pakistan International School in Muscat. During the meeting Chaudhry Salik Hussain apprised the Omani side of the major reforms the Government of Pakistan is undertaking to improve the emigration process of Pakistani workers, their professional capacity enhancement and the marketing of Pakistani workforce abroad. He said that Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis is upgrading the technical training centers in Pakistan on modern lines which would train the workforce according to the certification requirement of each individual country or region. Oman is the third largest employer of Pakistani workforce in GCC after KSA and UAE and there are 360,000 (approx.) Pakistanis working in Oman. Pakistan receives more than $ 1 bn in remittances every year from Oman and Pakistani diaspora contributes greatly to the country’s foreign exchange. Most of the Pakistanis are employed in the construction, oil & gas, manufacturing, logistics, wholesale and retail trade sectors. There are Pakistanis working in the healthcare, teaching, hospitality, banking and IT sectors as well. Chaudhry Salik Hussain informed that Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis is going to start a compulsory pre-departure orientation program for all the workers going abroad which would educate them about the labor laws of the host country, workers’ rights and duties, cultural sensitivities of the host country and reprieve mechanism in case of any eventuality during ones stay abroad. He also offered the Oman Government to send well-trained human resource from Pakistan through Government-owned Overseas Employment Corporation which maintains a database of over five hundred thousand Pakistanis in different fields. Dr. Mahad bin Said bin Ali Baowain said that Pakistan and Oman enjoys very cordial relations and Pakistanis are contributing to the development of Oman. He said Pakistanis are very skilled workers and works in vast variety of fields. He expressed the commitment of the Government of Oman to streamline the process of migration of workers to Oman and remove any irritants thereof. Chaudhry Salik Hussain invited his counterpart to Pakistan to see the technical training facilities and a possible joint collaboration in training in the future. He also proposed the possibility of Oman investing in skill development centers in Pakistan, focusing on training workers according to the demands of the Omani market. The two sides agreed to enhance official engagements between the two countries. *-*-*-*
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