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Honourable Minister Betty Amongi Akena engages in bilateral discussions with the Ministers of Labour from Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, focusing on the potential signing of a Bilateral Labour Agreement (BLA) with Qatar and the effective implementation of the existing BLA with Saudi Arabia.

Hon. Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development Betty Amongi Akena on 22^nd November 2023 held Bilateral  meetings with Ministers of Labour of Qatar and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to discuss signing of BLA with Qatar, and implementing existing BLA with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The Minister on the  5th Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers in Baku, Azerbaijan emphasised the urgent need for countries of OIC to put in place measures to ensure safe migration of Labour, and strick respect of human rights of migrant workers. She called for enforcement and monitoring of housemaids working in private homes since accessing them by embassies when in distress is proving very difficult due to diplomatic procedures required.

The Ministers of Labour discussed how to make Labour migration safe, among other issues.
During the side meetings, Qatar invited the Minister for signing the BLA on 3rd-5th March, 2024, while Kingdom of Saudi Arabia agreed to have a joint technical committee to meet and iron out the issues raised by the Minister. The Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Azerbaijan called on states to establish a one stop centre to handle Labour disputes, including establishing a call centre to handle issues of children’s abuse, GBV, Labour complaints etc emphasising that it has worked well in Azerbaijan.

Another pressing concern raised during the meeting was the difficulty companies are encountering in obtaining Visas from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, Kampala, and the halting of accreditation of new companies by the Uganda Embassy in Saudi Arabia forcing many Ugandan companies to suspend their operations while still incurring monthly costs. This situation has added immense pressure to the industry, leaving it in a precarious state, according to the Minister.

They called for measures of ensuring swifter processing of passports and Interpol procedures, and reduction in the cost of recruitment to enable them to compete with other countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, whose process is shorter with lower associated costs. This contrast highlights the urgent need for Uganda to streamline its bureaucratic processes to bolster the labour externalization industry and secure its long-term sustainability.