Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda has confirmed that 735,000 US dollars have been transferred to Malawi through the Israel Labour Export arrangement as of February 14, 2024.
Chithyola Banda says the earnings are proof that the labour export option if well exploited could be a foreign exchange spinner through remittances.
Reports from Malawi’s Honorary Council in Israel indicate that since December last year, about 1,100 Malawians have been in Israel for work. The number includes 350 students who are on a year-long internship after which they will be granted a visa to work in that country.
Last week, Israeli Ambassador to Malawi, Michael Lotem, told the media that his country has engaged Malawian Labour authorities in a bid to strike a government-to-government labour export deal.
Labour export is a policy direction for both job creation and foreign exchange generation, as announced by the Ministry of Finance late last year.