A November 5 roundtable on labour cooperation between Vietnam and Middle Eastern and North African nations in Hanoi heard as many as 30,000 Vietnamese nationals are currently working in the region, primarily in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Libya, and Algeria.
They are most likely to be found in construction, mechanics, transportation, security, hotel services, and housework positions. A number of Vietnamese experts are involved in Algerian health care and education.
The hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese workers who have journeyed to the region over the past three decades should be credited with erecting multilateral bridges of friendship. But the labour relationships have yet to reflect this potential.
Experts at the roundtable stressed the need for efficiency improvements.
“African economic powers such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait are expanding infrastructure investments. Iraq and Libya are continuing their reconstruction processes. They all need foreign labourers working in a variety of areas, especially in mechanical engineering and tourism services,” said Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) Nguyen Thanh Hoa.
According to Hoa, the open Middle Eastern and North African labour markets have a lot to offer diligent and intelligent Vietnamese workers. The region’s governments are improving working condition regulations to protect guest workers’ rights and interests.
Geographical distance, harsh climatic conditions, and customary, cultural, and religious differences present challenges to expanding labour cooperation.
Vietnamese workers also face fierce competition from South Asian labourers—sent by countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka—who enjoy the advantages of cultural similarity and lower wage demands. Filipino and Thai workers can capitalise on their comparatively advanced English language skills.
Palestinian Ambassador to Vietnam Saadi Salam identified an ignorance of the Arab world’s cultures as the biggest challenge facing Vietnamese workers. “Vietnam needs training centres that will equip workers with this essential knowledge.”
Vietnamese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Tran Nguyen Tuyen noted the number of Vietnamese guest workers in the Middle East is currently rather low. Only 15,000 of the 8 million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia are Vietnamese.
He recommended the Vietnamese Government introduce a long-term labour cooperation policy and reorient overseas labour management mechanisms to developing the lucrative Middle Eastern and North African markets.
“Embassies should be aware of labour contracts signed between licensed Vietnamese companies and their employer partners,” Tuyen said. “A representative of the Vietnamese labour export company should be appointed in countries where workers reside.”
The roundtable was part of the November 4–5 economic cooperation forum between Vietnam and its Middle Eastern and North African partners in Hanoi.
