Her Excellency Haja Ishata Thomas, Sierra Leone’s Non-Resident Ambassador to the State of Qatar, has engaged the Director of International Labour Relations on the recruitment of skilled and unskilled Sierra Leoneans to work in the State of Qatar.

Referring to her previous visit to Doha during the presentation of her Credentials, Ambassador Haja Ishata Thomas recalled her extensive discussion with the Minister of Labour on the recruitment of Sierra Leoneans. She added that Sierra Leone is keen to strengthen bilateral relations with Qatar, especially in the labour sector, and that the Minister of Labour and Social Security has been looking forward to signing the Labour Agreement on the Regulation of Manpower Employment with his Qatari counterpart.

“I thank the State of Qatar for providing support to our nationals, particularly the one who was involved in an accident. Sierra Leone has a young and vibrant population willing and ready to provide meaningful support towards development in any country. As a reliable partner, Sierra Leone believes Qatar requires skilled and unskilled workers to actualize its ongoing development vision. We, therefore, request for the specific areas that are needed for recruitment to initiate action and kindly appeal to address the issue of residency for some of our nationals currently working in Doha,” Ambassador noted.

For her part, the Director of the Department of International Labour, Shaikha Mohammed Al-Khater, stated Qatar desires to enhance relations with African countries in manpower recruitment, emphasizing that the current labour policy on recruitment prioritizes skilled workers.

She added: “We will review the agreement and communicate through the established diplomatic channels a scheduled date for the signing of the agreement and will also look into the issue relating to residency problems for some Sierra Leoneans working in various sectors in Qatar.”