ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has emerged as ‘Manpower Export Leader’ in the region, beating other regional players like Bangladesh and India, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis announced on Monday.
According to a tweet from the ministry, more than 224,705 Pakistanis went abroad for employment in 2020 as compared to 217,699 from Bangladesh and 94,145 from India.
Pakistan becomes a Manpower Export Leader in the region despite the pandemic.
Leaving behind India and Bangladesh in the export of manpower in 2020.@beoehq @MoIB_Official @sayedzbukhari @PTVNewsOfficial @appcsocialmedia pic.twitter.com/DfdIjaL1k7— Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & HRD ???????? (@mophrd) June 14, 2021
According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan, over 11.43 million Pakistanis had gone abroad for employment in more than 50 countries. The migration of Pakistani workers was mostly concentrated to Gulf Cooperation Council countries (96 percent), with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates hosting the majority.
The Survey said the ministry was striving to boost the export of Pakistani manpower by exploring new job markets in the world. “A comprehensive diversification strategy has been developed for top five priority countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Malaysia, Qatar, and Oman along with other five potential countries such as Kuwait, South Korea, Japan, Germany, and China to promote the export of manpower to these countries,” it added.
In May, Kuwait revoked the ban on work visas for Pakistani workers which had been in place since 2011. The decision was taken to immediately restore family and business visas for Pakistan. It was also decided that Kuwaiti visas will now be issued to Pakistani workers as per the agreement.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan praised overseas Pakistanis for sending a record $2.8 billion in remittances in April. “I have always believed Overseas Pakistanis to be our greatest asset,” the premier said in a Twitter post today.
