JEDDAH — A source from the Ministry of Labor said the Bangladeshi government is ready to send 500,000 qualified housemaids to the Kingdom but is awaiting the finalization of an expatriate recruitment agreement between the two countries. The source also said a delegate from the ministry will be leaving for Bangladeshi capital Dhaka to decide the date of recruitment, link Saudi recruitment companies with Bangladeshi companies and finalize the agreement. “The Bangladeshi government has adhered to all rules and regulations set by the Kingdom to reopen Bangladeshi expatriate recruitment in the Kingdom,” he said. The Bangladeshi Consul General Shahid Al-Kareem said his government went to “great lengths” to meet Saudi Arabia's recruitment requirements. He said: “The government established a new ministry, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, and prepared a database of two million qualified candidates. “The Saudi Ministry of Labor's delegation to Bangladesh in the coming days will discuss salary details, age requirements, job opportunities, and work visas.” He added that recruitment has not started yet as the two countries have not finalized the conditions of the agreement. “The Bangladeshi cadre is qualified to occupy a variety of jobs. The Bangladeshi government has opened 64 training centers to train workers in the occupations of engineers, nurses, housemaids, and drivers. Currently more than 1.2 million Bangladeshis are residing in the Kingdom. Over 800,000 of them received the royal bonus given on the occasion of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman's inauguration. Minister of Labor Adel Fakeih said his ministry had already announced that it would accept Bangladeshi expatriates. He said: “After what we saw from the Bangladeshi government and its determination to meet our requirements, we look forward to begin recruiting Bangladeshi expatriates and fulfill the needs of our local job market.”
