Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that Pakistan has a ‘huge potential’ to export skilled manpower that can be helpful in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
According to Arab News, he expressed these views on the sidelines of the two-day Emerging Market Economies Conference in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, where he is participating in a discussion on sustainable economic growth in an environment of global uncertainty.
Saudi Arabia is developing its economy on modern lines under Vision 2030. It is a strategic development plan that aims to reduce dependence on oil and diversify the economy.
The program focuses on the development of public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, entertainment and tourism.
Saudi Arabia has launched several major projects that are expected to have significant impacts on the Pakistani labor market.
Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Al-Ula Summit, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said, “We believe that Pakistan has a lot of opportunities in terms of exports, especially in terms of skilled manpower, which is essential to realizing Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.”
He added, “There are countless opportunities for both countries to work together.”
Pakistani people are one of the largest expatriate communities in Saudi Arabia. More than two million Pakistanis are working there.
Saudi Arabia is also the largest source of remittances for Pakistan. Although Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia are mostly working class, the demand for skilled manpower in Saudi Arabia is also increasing to modernize the economy.
Rana Mujtaba, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, told Arab News in April last year that Islamabad was working on a new education policy under which at least one million youth would be trained in various technical skills every year to export trained manpower to Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia.
In addition, the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has also proposed a partnership with the Pakistani government under which training programs would be launched for Pakistani youth to provide them with modern and practical skills that would meet the needs of the Saudi labor market.
According to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office, discussions in this regard took place this month.
The Al-Ula Conference is an annual economic policy conference, organized by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regional office in Riyadh.
The conference will bring together emerging market finance ministers, central bank governors, and policymakers, as well as a select group of public and private sector leaders, international organizations, and academics.
According to the Pakistani Ministry of Finance, the Al-Ula conference will have a total of nine sessions, with 200 participants and 36 speakers.
The forum will discuss ways to build resilience in a changing world, and the appropriate economic and financial policies needed for emerging market and developing economies to address economic challenges.
The conference will take place at a time when the world is grappling with deep and persistent economic imbalances, trade tensions between major global powers, geopolitics, and tight financial conditions.
Ahead of the Emerging Markets Conference in the historic city of Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and his Saudi counterpart Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan have stressed their commitment to promoting economic cooperation and advancing mutual prosperity.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Finance of Pakistan, the meeting between the Finance Ministers of the two countries also discussed opportunities to enhance bilateral trade, investment and financial cooperation, while the two Finance Ministers expressed their determination to utilize the full potential of their countries’ strategic partnership.
The Ministers also reviewed the possibilities of cooperation between the two countries in key sectors including infrastructure, energy, technology and finance.
On this occasion, both sides highlighted the importance of continuous dialogue and joint initiatives to promote investment and economic opportunities that will prove beneficial not only for both countries but also for the wider region.
