54,000 additional Thai labor workers allowed to work in Qatar

BANGKOK, 6 May 2010 (NNT) — The government of the State of Qatar has approved bringing in additional Thai laborers to the country following Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s official visit to the Middle Eastern country last November to strengthen ties.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was witnessed by Thailand’s Ambassador to Qatar, HE Suvat Chirapant, the Deputy Minister of Labor, Yup Nana, and the Permanent Secretary of the Labor Ministry in Qatar. The agreement allows an additional 54,000 Thai labor workers to enter the country, however procedures will have to follow the Thai constitution.

According to officials, the need for additional Thai labor workers is due to Qatar’s economic and development growth, and is also a result of negotiations and visits from the Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs during July 2009. Currently there are 13,000 labor workers in Qatar.

In November 2009, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva became the first Thai prime minister to make an official visit to Qatar. During the visit, the Thai premier was able to reinforce mutual cooperation in fields of food security, energy, labor, medical tourism, construction and the sustainable development particularly in the three provinces in Southern Thailand.