Unemployment: Taliban decide to send Afghan workers abroad

The Taliban’s interim government has begun sending Afghan workers to get employment opportunities in Qatar to tackle the unemployment problem in Afghanistan.

According to Afghan officials, talks are also underway to send Afghan workers to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Turkey and Russia.

Under this new program on Tuesday, registration of 2,000 skilled people, which is from hoteling, food and drinks and engineering.

Under this scheme, candidates from all 34 provinces of Afghanistan can submit their professionalism and certificates and authorities will review their eligibility.

This registration has begun at a time when at least 1.5 million Afghans have been sent back to Afghanistan from neighboring countries like Iran and Pakistan in recent months. At present, Afghanistan is suffering from a serious economic and humanitarian crisis.

Rescue agencies have warned that Afghan citizens returning to the country have increased pressure on local facilities and remittances sent by workers abroad have also decreased significantly.

The Taliban’s interim Minister of Labor Abdul Mannan Omari called the program to send workers abroad as an “important and fundamental step”.

He said talks with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Turkey and Russia are underway.

Abdul Mannan Omari wrote on Monday on social media platform X: ‘We are determined to send skilled, semi -skilled and professional Afghan workers to these countries. We are committed to protecting Afghan labor legal rights and their security abroad. Our aim is to stop illegal migration and maintain the dignity and dignity of Afghan workers. ‘

Although only Russia has recognized the Taliban as the Afghan government in the world, the rest of the countries have diplomatic relations with the Taliban at the lower levels.

Qatar proved to be an important center during the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in 2021. Qatar is the country where the Taliban’s diplomatic office is located, and in 2019 there were peace talks between the Taliban and the then US President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said the move to send labor to Qatar would help reduce unemployment and support the economy through remittances.

Millions of people still rely on humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, but aid agencies and NGOs are facing a severe reduction in funding, which is diminishing work in the fields of education and health.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Brother said at the launch of the program on Monday: “The process of legally sending skilled and professional Afghan workers abroad will have a positive impact on the national economy and will reduce unemployment.”

He added that the Taliban government has been working on domestic and foreign investment, promotion of trade relations and infrastructure projects to reduce unemployment for the past four years.

According to Al Jazeera’s report, in 2023, Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada met Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al -Thani in the southern city of Kandahar, Afghanistan. This was his first public meeting with a foreign leader.