Pakistan has become a regional ‘Manpower Export Leader’ despite the Covid-19 pandemic, announced Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari.
On Monday, SAPM Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari announced that the country has emerged as the ‘Manpower Export Leader’ in the region by sending around 224,705 workers to different countries for many job assignments in 2020, despite the covid pandemic.
According to a tweet from the ministry, Bangladesh sent 217,699 workers abroad and India 94,145 for employment purposes during the same period. The tweet said, “Pakistan becomes a ‘Manpower Export Leader’ in the region despite the pandemic, leaving behind India and Bangladesh in the export of manpower in 2020.”
As per the Pakistan Economic Survey which was launched by the government last week, over 11.4 million Pakistanis have gone abroad for employment in more than 50 countries.
The survey also says that Saudi Arabia was the main destination for the Pakistani workforce where more than 60pc of emigrants went followed by UAE (24pc) and Oman (4.6pc). Out of the total, 136,339 people went to Saudi Arabia, 53,676 to the UAE, 10,336 to Oman, and many other countries during 2020.
Kuwait lifts 11-year visa ban on Pak citizens paving way for manpower export
Moreover, in May, Kuwait lifted 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. Further decision was taken that Kuwaiti visas will now be issued to Pakistani workers as per the agreement.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has also praised overseas Pakistanis for sending a record $2.8 billion in remittances in April. The premier said in a Twitter post on Monday, “I have always believed Overseas Pakistanis to be our greatest asset,”
“In April, your remittances rose to an all-time high of $2.8bn. Remitting $24.2bn in first 10 months of FY21, you have broken the record level achieved in the entire FY20,” he said and added, “Thank you for your faith in Naya Pakistan.”
