Kuwait wants to hire Bangladeshi medical staff on G2G basis

Kuwait is willing to hire medical staff from Bangladesh under the government to government (G2G) arrangement, as the oil-rich country needs manpower to ensure better health services for its nationals and foreign workers.

In this regard, the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait City signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the health ministry of Kuwait last month.

Mohammed Abul Hossain, minister (labour) at the Bangladesh embassy, told the FE that they had inked a deal with Kuwait's health ministry as the Middle East nation is willing to hire medical staffers from Bangladesh.

Relevant Bangladesh ministries and departments, including health, foreign, expatriates' welfare ministries and the Directorate General of Nursing and Midwifery, have responded positively to send nurses and health technicians under the G2G recruitment process.

"Through this MoU, both the countries have now agreed on the issue of recruitment of medical professionals," said Mr Hossain.

Now another agreement will determine the sending process, salary and other benefits of the workers, as well as different terms and conditions, he added.

Asked, the embassy official said the salary and other benefits will be attractive, while the employing country will bear the migration cost.

Meanwhile, the migration sector insiders said the Kuwait government has planned to set up more hospitals to extend health services, meaning there are more opportunities for Bangladeshi health professionals in future.

The oil-rich country is interested in hiring medical staffers from different labour-sending countries so that foreign workers can easily communicate with the medical professionals speaking the same language, they added.

Currently, there are nearly 4.5 million people in Kuwait. Of them, 1.4 million are Kuwaiti nationals. About 250,000 Bangladeshis are staying in the country with different jobs.

This is to mention that Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL) started sending nurses to the Gulf nation in 2022. The government's lone recruitment agency has so far sent 650 nurses to that country.

The nurses are being recruited through City Group General Trading Company and Advance Technology Company in Kuwait. The monthly salary varies from Tk 80,000 to Tk 90,000 with the scope of overtime and a yearly increment.

According to Bangladesh Diploma Bekar [unemployed] Nurses Association, a significant number of nurses are passing out every year from public and private nursing institutes.

However, there is no good job prospect for them at home with attractive salaries.

Therefore, the association urged the government to provide necessary support to help them avail nursing jobs abroad.

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