The government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development, has signed a bilateral labor agreement with the state of Qatar to expedite safe and formal labor representation in Qatar.

Betty Amongi Akena, the Minister of Gender, Labour, and Social Development of the government of Uganda, together with her counterpart, Ali Bin Samikh Al Marri, the State Minister of Labour for Qatar, signed the agreement on behalf of the two countries.

Amongi and Al Marri agreed to instantly establish a joint technical committee to fast-track the implementation of the agreement.

Amongi made the remarks while in Doha, Qatar, on April 1, 2024, where she met with Al Marri for the signing of the agreement.

She said that the agreement was to ensure the formalization of over 30,000 Ugandan migrant workers in Qatar.

“Over 30,000 Ugandans are working in Qatar, hence the need to sign an agreement that will enable organized formal mechanisms of labor migration,” Amongi said.

A follow-up meeting scheduled for May 2, 2024, was agreed upon by the two counterparts to assess the progress of the initial take-off phase of implementing the agreement.

They further agreed on the need to monitor all recruitment agencies in Qatar, with the aim of ensuring that they respect Ugandan workers’ rights, welfare, and contractual obligations to ensure that recruitment companies abide by what is contained in the agreement.

The agreement will enable the representation of skilled, semi-skilled, and domestic workers.