On the occasion of attending the 8th Future Investment Initiative Conference and visiting and working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the evening of October 29 local time in the capital Riyadh, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife along with the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation met with officials, staff of the Embassy and Vietnamese engineers in Saudi Arabia.
According to VNA, speaking at the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shared the difficulties of Vietnamese workers working far from home and family, especially in the post-COVID-19 pandemic context, conflicts in many places, disruptions in supply chains, production...
The Prime Minister assessed that the potential for relations with the Middle East - Africa region and Saudi Arabia is still very large and has not received due attention. Therefore, recently and during this working trip, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia will continue to strengthen political trust, exchange delegations at all levels, aiming to elevate the relationship, negotiate free trade agreements, investment protection agreements, thereby promoting trade, investment, labor cooperation and cooperation in areas such as oil and gas exploitation and processing, digital transformation, energy conversion, Halal products, etc. These will create favorable conditions for Vietnamese workers to work in Saudi Arabia.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated, acknowledged and commended the efforts and results of the work of the Vietnamese Embassy in Saudi Arabia; wished that the Embassy would continue to do a good job of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens in the fastest, most timely and most effective way; at the same time, strengthen the connection between the Embassy and the people, so that the Embassy and the community can become reliable support when people encounter difficulties and hardships, "help each other in times of need". In particular, the establishment of the Association of Vietnamese People in Saudi Arabia should be soon carried out; and the promotion of information, images, country, people, culture, cuisine... of Vietnam should be promoted in appropriate and effective forms.
Responding to the people's recommendations, the Prime Minister said that in the context of Vietnam's relations with Saudi Arabia and the Middle East continuing to develop strongly, the need for communication and transport connections is increasing rapidly. Therefore, the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam Airlines Corporation and airlines are studying the implementation of direct flights to this region to facilitate travel and communication.
The Prime Minister also hopes that Vietnamese workers in Saudi Arabia will continue to introduce and persuade their relatives and friends to come here to work; at the same time, relevant agencies and units will have programs, orientations, and systematically implement training activities, and send workers to work; continue to promote the spirit of self-reliance, self-improvement, effort, solidarity, unity, mutual love, overcoming barriers, difficulties, and challenges to rise up.
During this visit, the Prime Minister will request that Saudi Arabia continue to facilitate the people to continue living, studying, working conveniently and stably, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the people. The Prime Minister requests that if the people have any difficulties or problems, they continue to propose to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy to resolve them according to their authority. For issues under the Government's authority, they should report to the Government for consideration and resolution.
There are currently nearly 4,000 Vietnamese workers working in Saudi Arabia. While in the past Vietnamese workers in Saudi Arabia were mainly domestic helpers, now there are more and more skilled workers, including engineers. Notably, there are currently 45 Vietnamese engineers participating in all production stages of Ceer Company - Saudi Arabia's first electric vehicle company, with an income of 8,000-16,000 USD/month.
