Pakistan strikes labour export deal with South Korea

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday struck a labour export deal with South Korea in a bid to open more opportunities for Pakistanis to work in the East Asian nation and ultimately boost remittances flowing into the country.

“Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) Pakistani workers will be able to work in South Korea through Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) for two years i.e. 2018-19,” a statement said.

The statement said Pir Syed Sadruddin Shah Rashidi, minister for overseas Pakistanis and HRD, and officials from South Korea’s ministry of employment and labour signed the agreement in a ceremony held in the federal capital. Addressing the ceremony, the federal minister welcomed the South Korean side for giving Pakistan an opportunity to send local workers to the Asia’s economic powerhouse through a transparent and efficient mechanism.

Kwak Sung-Kyu, the ambassador of South Korea, appreciated the cooperation between the Pakistani and South Korean labour ministries for employment of skilled and dedicated labour from Pakistan.

“This cooperation will further improve in the days to come,” Sung-Kyu said.

Until last year the OEC had exported around 9,000 workers to South Korea in the different fields for employment.

According to OEC, during 2017 around 500 workers were sent to the Asian nation and more emigrations are underway.

South Korea has one of the largest Pakistani diaspora community in Asia, numbering 7,000 according to 2004/05 Pakistani government figures, or 10,423 according to 2013 South Korean government figures.

Secretary ministry for overseas Pakistanis, Dr Muhammad Hashim Popalzai, managing director OEC, Dr Amer Sheikh and other senior officers of the ministry and OEC were also present on the occasion.