Growing Demand For Pakistani Workers in Gulf Arab Kingdoms

[Riaz Haq]

Millions of Pakistani workers have been participating in the development of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and other Gulf nations over many decades. They have been doing so in spite of the almost complete absence of basic human rights and harsh working conditions. A recent Pakistani government report appears to negate their enormous contribution to the Arab Gulf region. Instead of highlighting their positive role and defending their rights, the report by the secretary of Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource De­­velopment reinforces the bigoted negative stereotypes of overseas Pakistanis. 

Emigration of Pakistani Workers. Source: Pakistan Bureau of Emigration

This report and other past unfounded negative statements seem to indicate that Pakistani officials are the worst enemies of their own people. An example of such reckless behavior of Pakistani officials came in 2020 when a Pakistani minister claimed without evidence or investigation that most Pakistani pilots had fake pilot licenses. While the statement was later proved to be wrong, it caused enormous damage to the PIA, Pakistani flag carrier, when its flights were banned in Europe and North America. 

The claim by Pakistan's labor secretary about the Gulf nations not wanting Pakistani workers is contradicted by the government's own data showing that 426,951 Pakistanis were hired by Saudi employers in 2023-24.  During the same period, another 230,000 Pakistanis were offered jobs in the UAE and 60,000 Pakistanis found employment in Qatar.  

Year-wise, the number of Pakistanis hired by Saudi employers declined from 514,725 in 2022 to 426,951 in 2023. But those recruited in UAE increased from 128,477 in 2022 to 229,894 in 2023, according to the Bureau of Emigration. Overall, in 2022, 832,339 Pakistanis went to work abroad, which increased to 862,625 in 2023, according to the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment.

These Pakistani workers in the Gulf region are also making a huge contribution to Pakistan's economy by sending home large remittances. Pakistanis in the UAE remitted $3.7 billion during the July-March 2024 fiscal year. Saudi led with $5.1 billion, followed by the UK ($3.2 billion), the US ($2.5 billion), other GCC countries ($2.3 billion), EU ($2.6 billion), Australia ($0.5 billion) and other countries ($1.3 billion).

Pakistan's weak economy is not creating enough jobs for the nation's growing working age population. Overseas employment helps relieve the pressure. There are over 10 million Pakistanis working overseas and growing. To ensure that this avenue of employment remains open, the Pakistani leaders should be promoting, or at least not denigrating, Pakistanis working overseas. 

The story of Pakistanis' pivotal role in the development of UAE is illustrated by two high-profile examples: Emirates Airline and Burj Khalifa.  

Emirates Airlines flights numbers are preceded by EK which harkens back to the carrier's first flight from Emirates to Karachi. Flight EK600 was flown by Captain Fazl Ghani Mian on 25 October 1985. PIA provided technical and management assistance to the new carrier and leased a new Boeing 737—300 and an Airbus A300B4-200. 

Burj Khalifa, the  world's tallest building, was designed using software developed by Ashraf Habibullah, a fellow NED University alumnus who founded Computer Structures Inc of Berkeley, California.  The Dubai landmark was built by thousands of construction workers from Pakistan. 

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[Riaz Haq]

Remittances soar to $3b in Aug


https://tribune.com.pk/story/2494858/remittances-soar-to-3b-in-aug

KARACHI:
Workers' remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis remained strong at nearly $3 billion in August 2024, marking a significant 40.5% increase compared to the same month last year. This robust growth is attributed to the prolonged stability of the rupee against the dollar and a surge in overseas employment, particularly in the Middle East, which allowed more expatriates to support their families back home.

According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), remittance inflows rose to $2.94 billion in August 2024, up from $2.09 billion in August 2023. However, the inflows experienced a slight decline compared to $2.99 billion in July 2024. Cumulatively, remittances surged by 44% to $5.94 billion in the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year 2024-25, compared to the same period last year.

The average monthly inflow of nearly $3 billion during the first two months of FY25 is notably better than the full-year average of $2.68 billion per month in FY24, suggesting that the growth momentum could be sustainable moving forward.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Tahir Abbas, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), noted that the major growth in remittances was recorded from Middle Eastern countries. A significant number of Pakistanis found employment in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in recent months, contributing to the increase in remittances.

Abbas dismissed concerns about the impact of declining international petroleum prices on remittance inflows, stating that the current downward trend in oil prices is more of a normalisation than a sharp decline. He explained that oil prices below $70 per barrel do not pose a significant threat to remittance inflows from oil-dependent Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are major sources of remittances for Pakistan.

"Even if oil prices briefly dip below $60 per barrel, it would not destabilise remittance inflows. However, if prices were to fall below $50 per barrel, it could hurt receipts, though such a scenario is not foreseen at present," Abbas explained.

———————-
From Arif Habib

Remittances increased by 40% YoY to $ 2.9bn during Aug’24

Remittances by overseas Pakistanis increased by 40% YoY to USD 2.9bn during Aug'24 compared to USD 2.1bn during Aug’23. On MoM basis, remittances decreased by 2%.

During 2MFY25, remittances went up by 44% YoY to USD 5.9bn as compared to USD 4.1bn in 2MFY24.

@StateBank_Pak
#remittances #SBP #Pakistan #Economy #AHL

https://x.com/ArifHabibLtd/status/1833164216926343427