The Israeli publication The Marker writes that the Israeli official delegation, which flew to Uzbekistan to recruit workers for construction work in Israel, "returned home empty-handed."

"The Ministry of Housing Construction of Israel is asking to increase the quota of importing foreign workers to 20,000 people in addition to bilateral agreements. The number of additional workers is planned to be brought in through private companies with the support of the Ministry of Housing Construction and the Union of Contractors. Israel's direct attempts to recruit workers from countries such as India, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka on the basis of agreements have failed," the publication writes.

The Marker , referring to the members of the Israeli delegation, points out that the local authorities have paralyzed the work of the Israelis with various bureaucratic excuses and did not allow them to hire workers.

According to reports, the Israeli official delegation also returned from India without workers, and the Indian candidates failed to pass the exam of the Israeli Contractors Association. Private contractors have managed to hire 5,400 workers in India, but they are not expected to arrive until next month due to red tape.

After October 7, 2023, Israel faced a severe labor shortage in various sectors, including construction. Earlier, according to various sources, about 76,000 Palestinians were involved in construction work in Israel. It also banned Palestinian workers, who before the war made up about 20 percent of the country's farms. In addition, about 10,000 foreign agricultural workers, mostly Thai citizens, left Israel. Israel's attempts to negotiate bilateral labor agreements with India, Uzbekistan, and Sri Lanka have failed for various reasons.

At the end of July 2022, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan reported that an agreement was signed between the governments of the two countries on the temporary employment of citizens of Uzbekistan in some sectors of the labor market.

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