Labor Minister Mufrej Al-Haqabani (L) and Chad’s Foreign Minister Musa Faki Mohammed. (SPA)

The Kingdom signed a bilateral agreement on Sunday with Chad for the recruitment of male and female domestic workers.

The accord was signed by Labor Minister Mufrej Al-Haqabani and Chad’s Foreign Minister Musa Faki Mohammed on the sidelines of the visit by Chad President Idriss Deby Itno. Itno met Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman at Al-Yamamah Palace on Sunday.

The agreement also stipulated the cost of recruitment, monthly wages and when visas would be issued for the Chadian workers.

Separately, Minister of Economy and Planning Adel Fakeih met with a delegation from Chad including Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Adoum Younousmi, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Mariam Mahamad Nour, and Minister of Economy, Trade and Tourism Development Aziz Mohammed Saleh to discuss economic cooperation.

President of the Council of Saudi Chambers Abdulrahman Al-Zamil also held discussions with Chadian ministers Younousmi, Nour and Saleh. During the meeting, they discussed a number of trade issues.

Al-Zamil said the two parties are interested in investing in each other’s countries. “The Saudi business sector wants to take advantage of investment opportunities in Chad,” he said.

Al-Zamil said he had asked the Chadians to provide training for their workers before sending them to the Kingdom.

The Shoura Council, meanwhile, is expected to review a proposal in the coming days to allow Saudi citizens to recruit household workers via Gulf recruitment offices. The proposal comes in light of troubled recruitment conditions in the Kingdom, resulting in waiting times of up to six months, the highest recruitment costs in the Middle East, and the involvement of brokers and unlicensed offices.

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