Qatar to import 30,000 Pakistani workers this year

Qatar has signed a deal that could see 30,000 skilled and semi-skilled Pakistanis migrate to the Gulf state as it looks to solve a growing skills shortage that is affecting the entire region.

The agreement between the Qatari and Pakistan governments aims to boost employment opportunities for Pakistanis looking to migrate to Qatar as well as those already living in the Gulf state, Qatar daily The Peninsula reported on Monday.

The deal is an additional protocol to an existing labour agreement signed between the two countries in 1987, according to the newspaper.

The agreement was signed by Pakistan Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah and Qatar Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Sultan bin Hassan Al Dhabit Al Dousari.

About 75,000 Pakistanis are thought to be currently employed in Qatar.

The Pakistani government is also planning to establish vocational institutes to train workers to meet requirements of international labour markets, the newspaper said.

Qatar, like other Gulf states, is struggling to find enough skilled professionals to fuel its booming economy.

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Gulf states are almost completely reliant on foreign workers to fuel their booming economies as nationals are often unable or unwilling to do the work of expatriates.

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