The Overseas Workers Management Department said in order to fulfil its target of sending 75,000 workers abroad this year, it will work hard to maintain the traditional markets for Vietnamese labourers, and explore new markets at the same time.

The four main traditional markets for Vietnamese workers namely Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Taiwan and Malaysia at present are relatively stable. The number of Vietnamese guest labourers working in these countries accounts for a large proportion of the nation's workers abroad, including 113,000 in Malaysia, 30,000 in the RoK, 90,000 in Taiwan and 20,000 in Japan.

Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, the deputy head of the department, said that the RoK and Japan had agreed to receive more guest workers from Viet Nam. They praised these workers as industrious and high skilled.

The Middle Eastern countries, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Libya, also represent a potential market for Vietnamese workers. These countries employ a large number of foreign workers in all sectors, ranging from maids working in households and construction workers to high-tech specialists.

Processing fees to send workers to the Middle East are not high while an average salary ranges from 400 to 600 USD per month. There are currently about 2,200 Vietnamese labourers working in this region.

The Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has recently approved a plan to send more Vietnamese workers to the UAE, creating an opportunity for labour export companies to tap the market.

Some industrial countries like the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and Italy have also opened the door to Vietnamese workers, but requirements are stricter, so it will be difficult to expand the export of labour to these markets in the near future. Only a small number of Vietnamese guest workers have been accepted by these countries so far.

Quynh added that his department is now focusing on training workers before sending them to work abroad and drafting measures which will prevent labourers from breaking their contracts and working illegally in their host countries and this will help to meet employers' requirements.

A number of new regulations on the management of Vietnamese guest workers have now been introduced, including a draft law which is waiting for the National Assembly's approval./.