Agreement signed to send 700 Afghan workers to Qatar

KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghanistan’s private employment agencies and a mixed public company in Qatar have signed an agreement on deploying Afghan workers to the gulf country, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) announced on Monday.

Under the agreement, 700 job opportunities have initially been allocated for Afghan workers.

In a statement, MoLSA said the agreement was signed between a Qatari mixed public enterprise and Afghanistan’s private employment agencies, with 700 job positions initially designated for Afghan nationals.

The agreement aims to ensure that Afghan workers are sent abroad in a legal, safe and dignified manner, while also guaranteeing appropriate protection of their rights in the future.

The ministry added the registration process for eligible applicants would be carried out in a legal and reliable way by the relevant department of MoLSA responsible for foreign workers’ deployment in coordination with approved private employment agencies.

Further details regarding registration requirements, procedures and designated centres will be announced in due course.

MoLSA urged citizens to register only through official, authorised and approved centres once the process begins and to avoid engaging with unauthorised individuals, fraudulent companies, or unknown parties, in order to prevent any form of exploitation.

In 2022, MoLSA stated that around 65,000 Afghans would be sent to foreign countries for employment under separate agreements.

The ministry noted that contracts for sending Afghan workers abroad had been signed under the previous government, but their implementation had been delayed due to various challenges.

Last year, Labour Minister Abdul Manan Omari led a delegation to Doha at the official invitation of Qatar to hold talks with Qatari authorities on the deployment of skilled and semi-skilled Afghan workers.

kk/ma