Workers in Kabul Concerned Over Limited Job Opportunities and Qatar Deployment Uncertainty

Workers in Kabul are expressing ongoing concerns about limited job opportunities in Afghanistan and uncertainty over their deployment to Qatar nearly eight months after they registered.

Despite the registration, there is no clear timeline for when the workers will be sent, according to those affected.

Workers including Shirzi and Shah Mahmoud spoke of the lack of projects and job opportunities in the country, which has left many struggling.

Economic expert Syed Masoud also commented on the economic conditions impacting the workforce.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is pursuing official labor export agreements with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Oman and Russia.

Ministry spokesperson Samiullah Ebrahimi said that the ministry has an official contract with Qatar for sending workers and is in contact with the other countries to facilitate legal job opportunities for Afghan workers abroad.

The arrangement with Qatar is based on a 2009 agreement whose operational aspects were confirmed in 2022, according to the Qatari Embassy's Charge d'Affaires.

Russia's state news agency quoted Kabulov, the Russian President's Special Representative for Afghanistan, as saying that Moscow and Kabul are examining the possibility of Afghan migrants working in Russia at the expert level, but no specific agreement has been reached.