Manila hopes that workers from Philippines would continue to make their contribution in the growth of the oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through their hard work and dedication.

He ruled out any impact of ongoing "Saudization" policy on the prospectus of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) engaged in various development activities of the Kingdom.

The "Saudization" policy is aimed to offer better employment opportunities to local Emirati youths against the expat population from other countries. The policy is being termed as disadvantageous for the expatriates as it would limit their employment opportunities. The
Saudization or nitaqat system-a nationalization-related labor policy makes its compulsory for the firms to recruit maximum number of local emirate youths.

Cao told during a press conference that the policy would not be implemented on a full scale but in a gradual and calibrated manner.

Saudi Arabia provides employment opportunities to a large number of expatriates from Philippines, Pakistan and India and Egypt. OFWs deployed to the Kingdom make up 26.07% of the 1,123,676 newly-hired people.