Mr. Mohamed Rahman Swaray, the Minister of Employment, Labour, and Social Security in Sierra Leone, bid farewell to 20 Sierra Leonean women as they embarked on their journey to Saudi Arabia on October 20, 2023.

This marks the maiden group of Sierra Leonean workers departing for employment in Saudi Arabia under the recently reinstated Saudi-Musaned Labour Migration Programme.

The genesis of this significant labor migration project can be traced back to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in June 2022. This pivotal agreement paved the way for the selection and deployment of migrant workers from Sierra Leone to Saudi Arabia.

Before the departure of this pioneering group, a comprehensive assessment was carried out, evaluating the licensed Private Recruitment Agencies and medical facilities within Sierra Leone. Following this assessment, Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Conakry, Guinea, accredited four Licensed Private Recruitment Agencies and three medical centers to oversee the recruitment and health evaluations of prospective labor migrants bound for the Gulf State.

One of these accredited agencies, The Human Resources Global Consultancy SL Ltd (HRG), diligently prepared a contingent of twenty young women for their two-year employment contracts in Saudi Arabia.

During a pre-departure gathering, Minister Swaray extended his felicitations to these women for successfully navigating the rigorous selection process. He emphasized the imperative of upholding strong moral values and diligence in their designated roles, while cautioning against involvement in any negative activities, regardless of their perceived insignificance.

The Minister underscored the pivotal role of these women as ambassadors of Sierra Leone in Saudi Arabia, emphasizing that their comportment will either create new opportunities for their fellow countrymen or potentially affect labor migration prospects for the nation in the future. Mr. Swaray also assured the departing workers of the government’s unwavering commitment to their safety and welfare, further noting that the Sierra Leone Embassy in Saudi Arabia will diligently monitor their progress and well-being.

This marks a substantial leap in international labor collaboration between Sierra Leone and Saudi Arabia, ushering in fresh prospects for the nation’s workforce.