MBS visit: No mention of manpower export to S Arabia in MoUs

ISLAMABAD: While stage is set to welcome Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman today (Sunday) in Pakistan, the authorities in Islamabad have not worked out any strategy to increase export of manpower to Saudi Arabia which has already been tumbled by 83.14 percent in last three years to just 88,000 in 2018 from 522,000 in 2015.

The export of manpower to Saudi Arabia is a low hanging fruit which can provide to the dollars-starved Pakistan a massive solace in a very short span of time in the shape of surge in remittances, but the government, which is going to sign about 10 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) during two-day visit of the Saudi crown prince, is not doing any MoU for increasing manpower to Saudi Arabia wherein two new moderns cities are going to be built in the area bordering Israel, ex-senator Enver Baig told The News while wailing with agony.

When asked how sure he is that the incumbent government is not signing any MoU seeking increase in manpower export, Enver Baig said he himself carefully listened to press briefing of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi some days back and there was no mention of any MoU on manpower export while the minister listed eight MoUs in various sectors of economy.

However, Dr Muhammad Faisal, spokesman for the Foreign Office, said that other than MoUs finalised so far, there are some initiatives, not so far made public, which have been left to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Prime Minister Imran Khan to announce and when stressed if any progress will be made on manpower export, Faisal said let’s wait for announcements on vital initiatives.

“No doubt, the investment by Saudi Arabia in Pakistan is highly plausible step, but the investment will start giving dividends after five years, while the export of manpower will immediate result in massive hike in remittances. The government is trying from pillar to post to borrow the loans from friendly countries and now is set to move IMF for 13th loan package, but showing lacklustre attitude in increasing manpower to Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries,” Enver Baig said.

The ex-senator also disclosed that Pakistan has almost missed the bus for export of 100,000 manpower to Qatar for FIFA World Cup that is to be held in 2022 as the 80 percent required infrastructure for the mega event has been completed by manpower from India, Bangladesh and Nepal. He said that in 2016, Qatar had asked Pakistan to send 100,000 workers for construction of the infrastructure, but because of no follow ups by the government, the required workforce did not go to Qatar. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan recently visited Qatar where in export of 100,000 workforce was also figured out, but still there is no MoU signed by both countries on this very vital issue.

He proposed the PTI government to carve out the aggressive manpower export policy to wriggle the country out of economic morass.