Qatar to take more than 200,000 Bangladesh workers: Minister

More than 200,000 Bangladeshi workers may find jobs in Qatar this year, the Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has said.

Nurul Islam BSc, who is just back from the country, told the press in briefing on Sunday.

Over the next two years, Qatar was expected to recruit over 300,000 Bangladeshi workers. The issue would be discussed in a joint committee meeting to be held in early March, he said.

The Arab country has taken up massive development projects ahead of the 2022 World Cup it is hosting, said the minister.

It had recruited 123,956 workers from Bangladesh last year.      

“There is a huge demand for workers in the construction and service sectors. It’s possible that more than 200,000 workers will travel to Qatar this year.”

Qatar was looking for skilled and semi-skilled workers from Bangladesh including doctors, engineers, nurses, sales workers and office staff, said Nurul Islam.  

As for the compensation and migration costs, the matters would be decided in a joint committee meeting. “The minimum wage there is 700 Qatari Riyal. There is a proposal to raise it to 200 Qatari Riyal.” 

The minister met Qatar’s Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs Minister Issa Saad Al-Fafali Al- Nuaimi during his visit.

Speaking of Qatar’s interest in recruiting practicing Muslim workers, Islam said, “We told them that 95% of the population of Bangladesh are Muslims.”

When asked how being a practicing Muslim relates to the recruitment process, Islam said, “They asked us whether our people were practicing Muslims. We told them that most of the people are so.”