Considered the first of its kind, the agreement was signed by interim government Labor Minister Mustafa Bayram and his Ethiopian counterpart Muferihat Kamil, who is visiting Lebanon.

During the talks, Minister Bayram assured that Lebanon considers any foreign worker as a guest, and praised the Ethiopian government’s step of carrying out an extensive training process for employees.

Bayram stated that the initiative raises the moral value of the workers, and contributes to a very important return on investment for the Ethiopian economy.

He also highlighted the need to take into account the economic conditions that the country is suffering, and stressed the importance of security for the Ethiopian worker in agreements with recruitment agencies.

In turn, Minister Kamil informed Bayram about the labor reform promoted by Ethiopia related to skills, work and the teaching of Arabic and other languages. She also reiterated the purpose of strengthening the relationship with Lebanon through labor diplomacy.

For decades and under a patronage system, Lebanon has turned to migrant workers, hired from countries like Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Philippines, for housekeeping, operating gas stations and stocking supermarket shelves.

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