During the first quarter of 2025, 87% of Pakistani immigrants were attracted to Gulf countries. Of these, 70% of technical workers went to Saudi Arabia. Source: "Arab News" - Arab News reported on October 6 that Pakistan plans to deepen labor cooperation with Saudi Arabia, doubling the number of labor exports to Saudi Arabia in 2026 to 1 million people. The report stated that Pakistan sees the signing of the "Joint Strategic Defense Agreement" between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in September 2025 as an opportunity to deepen economic cooperation between the two sides, and plans to double the number of labor exports to Saudi Arabia from the current annual average of 500,000 to 1 million in 2026. According to the information, Saudi Arabia is the largest destination country for Pakistani labor exports and a major source of remittances. From 2020 to 2024, Pakistan dispatched 1.88 million laborers to Saudi Arabia (1.88 million), which is a 21% increase compared to 1.56 million laborers (1.56 million) from 2015 to 2019; during the same period, the total amount of remittances from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan increased from $7.39 billion (7.39 billion USD) to $8.59 billion (8.59 billion USD). The main reasons for Pakistan's doubling of labor exports to Saudi Arabia are two-fold: first, since the launch of Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030" in 2016, various development projects have shown strong demand for skilled and semi-skilled foreign workers. Second, Saudi Arabia's successful bid to host the 2034 World Cup has further released the market demand for foreign workers. To this end, Pakistan plans to take three measures: first, to establish a mechanism to promote cooperation with Saudi Arabia. The Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) of Pakistan is closely cooperating with the Special Investment Facilitation Committee (SIFC) of Pakistan, and a special committee was established on October 5 to coordinate the economic cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and negotiate labor agreements. Second, to improve the level of labor skills. The Pakistani side is cooperating with the "Takamol" skill certification project of Saudi Arabia, and the National Authority for Vocational Training and Technical Education (NAVTTC) is responsible for conducting skill certification and training for 62 types of occupations such as construction and technical services within the country, thereby improving the level of labor skills and the match rate of laborers going to Saudi Arabia. Third, it proposes that Saudi Arabia establish an electronic visa system for Pakistani workers, so that Pakistan can improve the efficiency of labor exports and optimize the overseas employment process.
Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1845461079949324/
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