Jordan's Minister of Labour Dr Khalid al-Bakkar emphasised that the Qatar-Jordan relationship in the area of labour and employment is deeply thriving as a role model for economic co-operation among Arab nations.

Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Dr al-Bakkar highlighted that Qatar and Jordan prioritise enhancing this co-operation to foster economic integration, thereby accentuating the Arab solidarity.

The bilateral co-operation is remarkably thriving and has reached superb levels, constituting a strategic partnership that lends impetus to economic and social development in the region, Dr al-Bakkar underlined, affirming that this co-operation is primarily predicated upon bringing Jordanian workers to Qatar to operate in vital sectors, such as health, education, engineering and contracting.

These sectors, he said, witness a significant growth in the Qatari market, by virtue of the mammoth infrastructure projects Qatar has witnessed recently, emphasising that this bilateral co-operation manifests the rock-solid relationship as a natural outcome of the brotherly and historic relations between the leaderships of the two nations.

Qatar has demonstrated a profound commitment by empowering youth through training programmes in sync with the fast-evolving market needs, he said, highlighting that the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Jordanian and Qatari governments in August 2013, is the bedrock of these solid ties.

Dr al-Bakkar highlighted that the MoU's terms focused on beefing up co-operation in the labour field, offering job opportunities for Jordanians in Qatar, with the MoU culminating in convening periodic meetings of the Qatari-Jordanian Committee since 2019, with the objective of following up on implementing an initiative to allocate 10,000 job opportunities for Jordanians in Qatar.

He emphasised that this move underscores the two nations' commitment to expanding this co-operation, in pursuit of achieving economic stability in Jordan, highlighting that one of the foremost points in this co-operation is the integration of employment mechanisms between the two countries.

A joint employment platform has been developed, along with co-ordination to issue work visas for Jordanian workers, in addition to streamlining the procedures of their arrival in Qatar to join different companies, Dr al-Bakkar noted.

He underlined that notwithstanding this broad co-operation, Qatar not only attracts Jordanian workers in conventional fields, but rather strives to constantly meet its increasing needs in sectors that witness rapid evolution. These sectors include information technology and renewable energy.

He added that the increasing demand for teachers and medical practitioners underscores Qatar's rapid advancement in those sectors, thereby offering an opportunity for Jordanian to fill these vacancies.

These joint efforts reflect an enduring bilateral relationship for the benefit of Jordan and strengthen Qatar's stature as a regional economic hub that witnesses an increasing demand for talented workers, he pointed out.

He highlighted that his country has enforced a raft of legislative reforms, in terms of labour sector to optimise the work environment and promote workers' rights to wages, working hours, leaves and work conditions, in addition to reinforcing women's role in the labour market.

This trajectory resulted in improving work environment in Jordan on par with the domestic and international evolution to ensure stable jobs for them, Dr al-Bakkar emphasised.

He stressed that the strength of relations between the two nations confirms that co-operation in labour and employment is the core pillar of building a successful strategic partnership that contributes to the economic and social stability in the two countries and broadening new horizons for the future within the framework of the Arab integration.