Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, left, and Iraq’s Labour and Social Affairs Minister Nassar-Al-Rubaiee sign a deal on export of manpower from Bangladesh for reconstruction works in Iraq. Photo: TV grab

Iraq will recruit manpower from Bangladesh for reconstruction works of the war-torn country, said its Labour and Social Affairs Minister Nassar-Al-Rubaiee on Saturday.

“Now, there is a huge opportunity to invest in Iraq for development works and a large number of foreign workers will be required for that project. We want the Bangladeshi people tap that opportunity,” he told journalists in Dhaka.

Dhaka and Baghdad on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding on export of manpower from Bangladesh at the expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry in the capital.

After the signing, Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain informed the reporters that Iraq, initially would recruit 1,000 workers from Bangladesh.

The minister, however, did not specify the migration cost and the salary of the workers. “The details about the Bangladeshi workers' migration process to Iraq would be discussed later,” he added.

Replying to a query of the reporters, he added that the workers would be sent to Iraq under the government supervision even if the recruiting agencies were allowed to involve in the process.

Mosharraf, however, said another Iraqi delegation would come to Dhaka on September 8 and visit some technical training centres.

When the agreement will be finalised, the government would start sending workers from its database, where around 1.5 million job aspirants have registered through online in January, he said.

Iraq’s Labour and Social Affairs Minister Nassar told that the Bangladeshi workers would be recruited through different companies but his government would monitor the whole process.

So, it was initially difficult to specify the number of Bangladeshis to be recruited for Iraq’s reconstruction, he said adding that Iraq has recently recruited around 100 doctors from Bangladesh and around 100 nurses will be recruited soon.

Replying to the reporters’ another query about the Bangladeshi workers’ safety in Iraq, Nassar said his government would ensure the human rights and status of the workers when they will be recruited under the principles of the MoU.