Desk Report:
On Monday (May 18, 2026), the 7th Bangladesh-Qatar Joint Committee meeting of the Bangladesh delegation led by Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury and the Qatari delegation led by Qatari Labor Minister Dr. Ali bin Saeed bin Samikh Al Marri was held at the conference room of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.
In the meeting, the Qatari Labor Minister expressed special interest in hiring workers in the electrician, plumber, AC technician and welding sectors from five specific technical training centers in Bangladesh.
At the beginning of the meeting, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury sincerely thanked the Qatari Labor Minister for accepting the invitation to visit Bangladesh. He said that significant progress has been made in the brotherly relations between Bangladesh and Qatar in the past few decades.
He expressed deep gratitude for the various initiatives of the Qatari government to solve the problems and ensure the welfare of Bangladeshi workers. In particular, the minister expressed deep gratitude on behalf of the government and people of Bangladesh for the unique example of humanity set by the Emir of Qatar by sending an air ambulance for the emergency treatment of former Prime Minister and national leader Begum Khaleda Zia.
Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury referred to Qatar as a very attractive labor market for Bangladeshi workers and said that currently more than four hundred thousand Bangladeshi workers are contributing to the development and progress of Qatar with efficiency, honesty and dedication.
He further said that in 2023, one hundred and seven thousand 598 Bangladeshi workers went to Qatar. He also expressed hope that this number will double this year.
Currently, there is only one visa and medical center in Dhaka for workers going to Qatar in Bangladesh, which is insufficient compared to the needs. He made a special request to the Qatari Labor Minister to set up Qatari visa and medical centers in eight divisional cities of the country to complete visa and health check-ups in a short time.
He also mentioned that quality training is being provided in 55 trades related to foreign employment in 110 technical training centers under the ministry.
In the meeting, State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare Md. Nurul Haque called for the recruitment of sufficient number of skilled doctors, engineers, nurses, caregivers, imams, muezzins, khatibs and religious teachers from Bangladesh to participate in Qatar’s ongoing development activities.
The Qatari Labor Minister praised the efficiency of Bangladeshi workers and said that currently about 473,000 Bangladeshi workers are working in Qatar, of which 30 percent are engaged in the development sector and the rest are engaged in other professions.
He expressed special interest in recruiting workers in the electrician, plumber, AC technician and welding sectors from five specific technical training centers in Bangladesh.
He further said that two special training centers have already been set up in Qatar to make unskilled workers skilled.
In response to the request to increase the number of visa centers in the divisional cities, the Qatari Minister of Labor assured that he would personally request the Qatari Minister of Interior to implement the matter.
The bilateral meeting of the joint committee was attended by, among others, Qatari Ambassador to Bangladesh Ali Mahdi Saeed Al-Qahtani, Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Md. Mukhtar Ahmed, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Dr. Md. Shakirul Islam Khan and senior officials of the relevant ministries of the two countries.
