Labour Minister Mr.Suchart Chomlin reported that Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha had traveled to Saudi Arabia on January 25-26 to restore the relationship and to drive cooperation in various fields between the two countries, as well as to push labour labor cooperation so that workers can be dispatched to work in Saudi Arabia as quickly as possible. The Labour Minister has responded to the efforts and has continually accelerated the initiative following a trip to Saudi Arabia. Throughout the past 46 days, the Ministry of Labour has been committed to making continuous progress. Today, a labour agreement has been concluded. On March 15, the Labour Minister assigned Assistant to the Labour Minister Mr. Surachai Chaitrakulthong to welcome Dr. Adnan Abdullah M. Alnuim, Deputy Minister for International Affairs of Saudi Arabia, and delegation on a courtesy call to the Assistant to the Labour Minister which took place at the Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok. Permanent Secretary of Labour, Mr. Boonchob Suttamanaswong, Assistant Minister from the Prime Minister’s Office performing duties for the Ministry of Labour Police Major General Nantachat Supamongkol and Mr. Suthi Sukosol, the Ministry of Labour’s Spokesperson (on politics), Mrs. Theanrat Nawamawat, the Department of Employment’s Director-General, Mr. Pairoj Chotikasathian, the Department of Skills Development’s Director-General, Mr. Prateep Songlamyong, and Assistant to the Permanent Secretary of Labour Mr. Samat Pattamasukon, also joined the occasion.
Mr. Surachai said that the Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin was very pleased that Dr. Adnan Abdullah M. Alnuim and his delegation visited Thailand. It is a good sign that Thailand and Saudi Arabia will strengthen labour relations, especially labour cooperation. This academic conference went smoothly, and made great progress. He said that he believes that the delivery of Thai workers to work in Saudi Arabia will be successful and will happen soon. For the especially good news, the labour agreement was settled and completed. There is only the signing process left. The Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, will expedite the signing as soon as possible so that workers can be dispatched.
Mr. Surachai added that over 1,000 job seekers wish to work in Saudi Arabia, who registered through the E-service system, website https://toea.doe.go.th. They are in the process of checking qualifications, labour skill assessments, and checking positions that have been applied for on whether it meets Saudi Arabia’s requirements or not. As for the trip to sign the agreement on March 28, as agreed by Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Labour will discuss the details of this trip. In addition to signing the agreement, they will visit a factory to observe employment conditions as information to share with Thai people to see the working conditions in Saudi Arabia.
After Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha restored relations with Saudi Arabia, the workforce was the first target group. The Thai authorities have asked Saudi Arabian authorities for cooperation on various issues to strengthen international relations in terms of exporting Thai products, animal feeds, and marine products, being a modern medical center, and, most importantly, tourism to attract more people from Saudi Arabia to visit Thailand.
“The Ministry of Labour would like to thank the Saudi Arabian party and sincerely hopes that this visit to Thailand will strengthen ties with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, to jointly push opportunities for Thai workers in Saudi Arabia and provide appropriate protection to workers according to international standards and international obligations,” concluded Mr. Surachai.
Dr. Adnan Abdullah M. Alnuim, Deputy Minister for International Affairs of Saudi Arabia, thanked the Thai Ministry of Labour’s executives for giving importance to the meetings for both days. The meetings were considered successful, and the parties received useful information to promote cooperation between the two countries. He will be very pleased to welcome Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin on the trip to sign the labour agreement on March 28th. Saudi Arabia will prepare various programs, including a meeting to prepare for this trip and create various schedules so that Thai workers who want to work can see the working conditions. They will also visit various establishments in Saudi Arabia. More Saudi Arabian people will travel to Thailand from this cooperation, especially for personal travel.
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Division of Public Relations
16 March 2022
