Pakistan signs MoC with Japan to send skilled workers

ISLAMABAD: Door to Japan are now open for Pakistani youth as the first Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) was signed between Japan and Pakistan on import of manpower and new visa category is being launched for those willing to work in Japan.

Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis Secretary and Human Resource Development Aamir Hassan and Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Kuninori Matsuda on Monday signed a MoC formally enabling Pakistani skilled workforce to enter Japan’s labour market.

The signing of MoC will open new avenues for Pakistanis to work in 14 Japanese sectors including construction, information technology, nursing, manufacturing, engineering and others. “To hire Pakistani labour, we need to sign this framework with Pakistan as Japan was facing serious shortage of workers at the moment due to aging society and shrinking population,” the Japanese Ambassador said.

He said Japan was creating new working visa regime and is expected to welcome up to 340,000 skilled workers from across the world including Pakistan. He said this framework would not only provide job opportunities to many skilled Pakistanis but also create new vistas for robust bilateral cooperation.

“I always feel happy to bring good news when it comes to Japan-Pakistan relations but today is special as the signing of the MoC is definitely a big step in promotion of relationship between Pakistan and Japan,” the ambassador remarked.

Mentioning education as one of another sector where Japan would facilitate Pakistan, he said Japanese embassy in Pakistan would create a network of Japanese language programmes throughout the country that would eventually help students in pursuing education in Japan.

Matsuda said the framework would also provide opportunity to Japanese companies to make investments in Pakistan and vice versa. He urged Pakistanis to learn Japanese language to get maximum employment opportunities in his country.

Secretary Aamir Hassan said the country at present had sent only 1,600 Pakistani labour to Japan through Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, but signing of this MoC would formalise export of Pakistani manpower.

He said some 96 per cent of the manpower export of Pakistan was to the Gulf countries at the moment. However, the initiative would diversify the country’s manpower export as Japan was destined to be the potential market for Pakistani workforce.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Zulfikar Bukhari said this was a groundbreaking movement for Pakistan and Japan as the initiative would foster relations between two countries. 

He said the MoC would definitely be a good omen for Pakistan as its 65 percent of population was below 35-year age. He assured that the ministry would focus on imparting Japanese language to send maximum number of Pakistani labour to Japan.

Japan’s Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs Sonoura Kentaro said Pakistan and Japan had established good relations for the last seventy years, adding Japan wished to further enhance ties between two countries.