Saudi Arabia opens its doors to Filipino doctors

MANILA, Philippines — Saudi Arabia is opening its doors for the first time to Filipino doctors. The good news was announced by Prince Khalid bin Saud bin Khalid, undersecretary of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an interview aired over GMA’s 24 Oras news program on Wednesday. “For the first time we will have doctors from the Philippines and that would be good for Filipino doctors because they will exchange ideas and experience with their counterparts in Saudi Arabia," said Prince Khalid, who is in the Philippines to inaugurate Saudi Arabia’s new embassy building in Makati. While there are some Filipino doctors and dentists in Saudi Arabia, many of them are working as assistants to local or other expatriate doctors in private hospitals. The bulk of doctors in the oil-rich kingdom are Egyptians. It will be the first time, however, for the Ministry of Health to hire Filipino doctors to work in state hospitals. Ambassador Mohammed Ameen Wali also said in the same news report or Tina Panganiban-Perez that there are plenty of job opportunities for Filipino health workers in his country, especially with the launch of several government hospitals in three economic cities. The report, citing a list provided by the Philippine Overseas Employment Admnistration (POEA), said that aside from the 100 medical doctors needed by February, the Health Mnistry is also hiring the following health workers: • 100 female respiratory therapists • 100 female physical therapists • 100 female x-ray technicians • 50 female dental assistants • 50 female dental technicians • 15 male-female ICD10 coders Saudi Arabia is the largest host to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), with an estimated total of 1,016,820 OFWs employed in the kingdom last year. Still, Ambassador Ameen Wali noted that the Saudi Arabian Embassy in the Philippines alone continues to issues 800-900 work visas a day, even as workers are being terminated in many countries, including the GCC countries. Lyn Camacho, a registered nurse, welcomed Saudi Arabia's continued hiring of Filipino health professionals, saying the opportunity to find work in the Philippines is almost minimal. Philippine Labor Secretary Marianito Roque also said in the same news report that Saudi Arabia is willing to take Filipino workers terminated in other countries as a result of the global economic crisis, as long as they qualify for available jobs in the kingdom. - GMANews.TV