Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed two agreements, regulating the process of recruitment and skill verification of the Pakistani workforce being employed in the kingdom. The deals, signed on Sunday, would enhance the quality of skills exported to the Kingdom where over two million Pakistanis, the majority migrant workers, live and work.

“The agreement on workers’ recruitment will contribute to streamlining the process of export of workforce from Pakistan in diverse professions in the kingdom while safeguarding their due rights and providing comprehensive legal protection to Pakistani nationals employed in Saudi Arabia,” Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement released on Sunday. 

Furthermore, it would also enhance the export of skilled workforce to Riyadh. The statement also added that resolving contractual disputes through legal recourse against recruitment offices, companies, or agencies for any violation would be easier now if they indulged in rights violations.  

“Certification for our skilled manpower will create opportunities for the technical workforce in Pakistan to get internationally recognized training and certifications,” the statement, as reported by Dawn. 

Pakistan’s Education Ministry released a separate statement, saying, “This step [agreements] will also safeguard the existing Pakistani workforce in Saudi Arabia. It is expected that millions of Pakistani skilled workers will get gainful employment opportunities with higher earning as a result of the efforts of the government of Pakistan,” it added.

Both Riyadh and Islamabad share close defense and economic ties, with the former often lending concessionary loans—including the $3 billion extended last week— to the latter. 

According to Dawn, there are over two million  Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia. They make up the second-largest migrant community in the Kingdom after Indians. In 2016, their remittances amounted to $5.8 billion, a substantial contribution to Pakistan's economy and poverty alleviation.