Pakistani expat worker numbers in Saudi Arabia surge to 2.64 million as ties thrive
They include 1.3m private sector workers, says ministry
Cairo: The number of Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia has hit 2.64 million, according to the kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources.
The figure includes 1.3 million workers in the Saudi private sector, the ministry said.
Male Pakistanis working in the kingdom are estimated at 2.2 million, according to the statistics.
Pakistani domestic workers in Saudi Arabia include 963,000 males and nearly 52,000 females.
In 2020, the overall numbers of Pakistani workers in the kingdom were estimated at about 1.5 million.
Earlier this week, the Saudi labour attaché office of the kingdom’s embassy in Pakistan held a function marking the Labour Day commemorated on May 1.
On the occasion, Saudi labour attaché Majed Bakr gave a presentation on the laws implemented by the kingdom to protect workers’ rights.
Addressing the same event, Saudi ambassador in Pakistan Nawaf Al Malki expressed the kingdom’s appreciation to workers in different fields, citing the government’s keenness to safeguard their full rights.
He said Pakistanis are working in different fields in Saudi Arabia and contribute to boosting Saudi development and Pakistani economy with their remittances.
In recent months, relations have thrived between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
In April last year, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia after taking his office.
In December, Saudi Arabia extended the term of a $3 billion deposit it made to Pakistan’s foreign reserves.
The money was deposited in Pakistan’s central bank in 2021 as a loan to shore up the country’s economy.
The extension of the deposit came in continuation of the Saudi government’s support to Pakistan’s foreign reserves to confront economic fallout from COVID-19, the Saudi official news agency said at the time.