Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed two agreements related to Workers' Recruitment and Skills Verification programme of Pakistani workforce being employed in the Kingdom.

The signing ceremony of the agreements took place during the visit of Minister of Education Shafqat Mahmood to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Agreement on Workers' Recruitment will contribute toward further streamlining the process of export of workforce from Pakistan in diverse professions in the Kingdom, while safeguarding their due rights and providing comprehensive legal protection to Pakistani workers employed in Saudi Arabia.

The agreement will also help in resolving contractual disputes and taking legal recourse against recruitment offices, companies or agencies for any violation.

The Agreement on Skills Verification will enhance export of skilled and certified Pakistani workforce to the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to collaborate in the areas of curriculum development with special focus on character building and civic sense.

The understanding was reached during a meeting between Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood and his Saudi counterpart Hamad Bin Mohammed Al Al-Sheikh in Riyadh.

They also agreed that both sides will work closely to collaborate and learn from the experiences of Distance learning platforms "Madrasati and AEN" of Saudi Arabia and "TeleSchool" of Pakistan.

The Saudi side agreed to ease the processes involved in 600 scholorships offered to Pakistani students.

It also agreed to work closely with Pakistan to explore the ways and means for setting up top ranked Pakistani universities' offshore campuses in the kingdom.