On January 27, 2022, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin revealed the progress of the recruitment of skilled workers according to Saudi Arabia’s needs following the visit with the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense General Prayuth Chan-ocha’s delegation, where bilateral discussions took place with Mr. Ahmad bin Sulaiman Al-Rayihi, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Human Resources and Social Development on January 25. The discussion improved labour cooperation between the two countries. Saudi Arabia assigned the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to implement skilled labour management to recruit 8 million people in the hospitality, hotels, health care, and construction industries in large construction projects.
Mr. Suchart continued that he had a teleconference via a video conferencing system with the President of the Thai International Employment Association, Ms. Aranya Sakulkosol. He assigned the Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Boonchob Suttamanaswong, and a special working group consisting of staff from the Department of Employment’s and the International Cooperation Bureau to meet and discuss the details of the procedures, including the cost of travel and the process of dispatching skilled Thai workers in the hospitality, hotel, health, and construction industries in Saudi Arabia, under the principle of government procurement, private delivery. On February 2, the Permanent Secretary of Labour, staff from the Department of Skill Development, and the Thai Overseas Manpower Association will check the readiness of jobseekers’ assessment sites to work abroad at the KTC Skill Testing Center, Lam Luk Ka District, Pathum Thani Province.
As for the progress on cooperation with Saudi Arabia, the Labour Minister has asked the Counselor (on labour) from the Labour Office in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) to accelerate cooperation. Recently, the draft MOU has been completed and submitted for consideration. The Labour Counselor consulted with Dr. Adnan Abdullah Al Naeem, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of International Affairs. From negotiations, Saudi Arabia is very willing to cooperate. There will be a period for implementation and progress monitoring, which will be held weekly. The memorandum is expected to be signed within two months or sooner. The Saudi Arabian Deputy Minister for International Affairs plans to visit Thailand soon.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Division of Public Relations
28 January 2022
