Khaberni - The Cabinet, in its session chaired by Prime Minister Ja'far Hassan on Sunday, approved a memorandum of understanding with the Government of the Republic of Burundi concerning the regulation of the employment of Burundian domestic workers in Jordan.
The memorandum aims to enhance cooperation and coordination in the field of labor between the two countries and allows for the recruitment of Burundian labor under the same conditions applied to other countries. This step aims to diversify the sources of recruitment and increase competition, which will reflect on the cost of domestic labor.
Burundi, which will commence the recruitment process according to the memorandum, is the poorest country in the world in terms of per capita gross domestic product, with an annual individual income not exceeding $272 according to 2022 data.
What do we know about Burundi?
Burundi is a landlocked country located in East Africa, within the Great Lakes region, bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the south and east, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, while Lake Tanganyika lies along its southwestern border. It has a population of about 13.4 million people and a population density of more than 315 people per square kilometer Khaberni, making it one of the most densely populated countries in Africa.
The country has a troubled history of German and Belgian colonization, followed by a series of coups and civil wars, the most prominent of which was an ethnic conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi, which led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands and significantly weakened the infrastructure and economy.
Despite attempts at political reform, Burundi still suffers from poverty, corruption Khaberni, illiteracy, and weak public services. More than 85% of its inhabitants rely on traditional agriculture, amid widespread environmental deterioration including deforestation and soil erosion.
Burundi is ranked among the least happy countries in the world, according to the 2018 World Happiness Report, and the urbanization rate is very low, not exceeding 13.4% of the population.
A new Jordanian step to diversify labor sources
Through this agreement, the Jordanian government aims to open new markets for the recruitment of domestic workers, instead of relying on a limited number of countries, providing alternatives for citizens and enhancing the balance of supply and demand.
This is the first time that official cooperation between Jordan and Burundi in the Khaberni labor file has been announced, opening up further bilateral relations between the two countries.
