Qatar is expected to recruit more Bangladeshi workers in 2019 to meet its growing demand for development works, said officials.
As part of the move, the Arab country has opened a one-stop Qatar Visa Centre (QVC) in Dhaka while it will open another visa centre in Sylhet soon to ease visa services for Bangladeshi nationals seeking jobs in the gulf state, said officials at the expatriates' welfare and overseas employment (EWOE) ministry.
Qatar needs a large number of construction workers to continue its construction work as it would host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they added.
Before opening the visa centre in the city, Qatar ambassador in Dhaka Ahmed Mohamed Al-Dehaimi at a meeting with Nurul Islam, who recently resigned as technocrat minister, conveyed his government's willingness to hire more workers.
Mr Nurul Islam also requested the Qatar envoy to recruit Bangladeshi workers for different sectors, a senior official close to the meeting said.
On Tuesday last, Qatar set up its QVC on the 11th floor of Rupayan Trade Centre at Bangla Motor in the capital. Apart from visa services, the QVC would provide medical test facility and other travel assistance to all visitors, they said.
Meanwhile, expatriate workers will now be able to leave Qatar without sponsors' permission under recently-reformed labour laws of the gulf nation.
International Labour Organisation has recently opened its first project office in Qatar to help ensure labour rights and their protection, officials said.
