Islamabad, Riyadh discuss pandemic impact on labor market

SAPM Sayed Zulfi Bukhari held a virtual meeting with H.E. Dr. Abdullah bin Nasser Abuthnain, Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Development for Labor of KSA on 12 May, 2020. (Photo courtesy: Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & HRD)

• Saudi vice-minister holds virtual talks with PM Khan’s special assistant for overseas Pakistanis
• Bukhari thanks Kingdom’s authorities for taking measures to facilitate workers

ISLAMABAD: A virtual meeting was conducted with Saudi Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Development for Labor to discuss the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the expatriate workforce in the Kingdom, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis told Arab News on Tuesday.
“We had a very good, progressive call and I am extremely pleased with the help they are giving us,” Zulfiqar Bukhari said, adding that Saudi Arabia has been “more than a brotherly country who supported Pakistan this time”.
Both Bukhari and Saudi minister Dr. Abdullah bin Nasser Abuthnain highlighted some of the measures taken by the Kingdom to mitigate the impact of the deadly disease on the workforce, such as allowing expatriates to return to their home countries during the crisis.
“I am very pleased to hear that the construction sector, along with other sectors in Saudi Arabia, had reopened which will take a lot of pressure off the people,” Bukhari said.
He added that Pakistan’s immediate priority was to repatriate its nationals from the Kingdom.
“Saudi Arabia has offered to use their airlines free of cost for laborers, even for those who were laid off before the pandemic,” he said.
The Saudi minister, for his part, stressed on the need to compile a full list of Pakistani citizens who wished to return and for their details to be provided “to the ministry through a designated online portal (Awdah),” Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. 
Bukhari expressed his gratitude for the Kingdom’s efforts, particularly for those seeking exit/re-entry permits and others whose contracts have expired and wish to leave for Pakistan permanently.
The developments follow a teleconference between Bukhari and a few Pakistani expatriates on April 29, wherein he said that Islamabad was operating two flights a week to repatriate its nationals from the Kingdom, with plans to increase the frequency soon.
“We are also looking to operate flights regularly to Saudi Arabia every single week,” Bukhari said, adding that nearly 15,500 Pakistani expatriates had expressed an interest to return from Saudi Arabia.