KARACHI: Around 980,000 Pakistanis have been sent abroad for employment in the last two years by the incumbent government.
The was stated by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Syed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari.
Talking on the occasion of World Migrants day, Syed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari said that Pakistan recorded a 6.75 percent growth in the economic contribution of Overseas Pakistanis in the country’s GDP.
Bukhari further said Pakistan received a record USD$ 21.84 billion as remittances over the previous financial year despite the outbreak of COVID-19. Remittances rose to 16.73 percent since 2014-15 with the leading share coming from GCC countries, he said.
Read more: Exporting skilled manpower our top priority: Zulfi Bukhari
The SAPM informed that the authority introduced the Biometric Registration System of Intending emigrants, to ensure secure, safe, and fair migration for migrant workers.
According to him, more than 970,000 workers have been registered biometrically for employment abroad through a system linked with NADRA and FIA.
Bukhari added that bilateral Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) in the field of labour and manpower have been signed with Saudi Arabia, Algeria, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Malaysia, South Korea, Bahrain, Japan, and others. Moreover, MOUs with Spain, South Africa, Syria, Ecuador, Ukraine, Botswana, and Azerbaijan are in the pipeline.