Today, Aliaksandr Lukashenka signed the Law “On Ratification of the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Cooperation in Labour and Employment”. According to his press service, the document is “aimed at developing cooperation in sending and employing qualified Pakistani workers and their family members in Belarus”.
The memorandum was signed in Islamabad on August 27, 2025.
The document sets out procedures for the entry and exit of migrant workers and establishes the obligations of the sending agency in selecting and dispatching qualified migrant workers from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Republic of Belarus.
The memorandum also imposes new obligations on employers, including submitting an application to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the Republic of Belarus declaring the intention to recruit migrant workers, concluding a cooperation agreement between the employer and the employment agency of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and other measures in accordance with the memorandum’s annex.
The document is due to enter into force 30 days after receipt through diplomatic channels of the final written notification by which the parties inform each other of the completion of procedures necessary for the agreement to take effect. The memorandum will remain in force for five years and will be automatically extended for the same period unless one of the parties notifies the other of termination six months before expiry.
It should be recalled that in April 2025, during the visit to Belarus by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Aliaksandr Lukashenka said that he was ready to accept up to 150,000 Pakistani labour migrants in the country. At the same time, he said the parties had agreed to develop “a specific mechanism for people to come and work in Belarus”.
