New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS): The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the signing of an agreement on the recruitment of Indian citizens to work in Portugal.

This agreement would set an institutional mechanism for partnership and cooperation between India and Portugal on sending and accepting Indian workers and a Joint Committee will be set up to follow up the implementation of the same.

This new arrangement will add new destination for Indian migrant workers in an EU member nation, especially in the context of many Indian workers who have returned to India following the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It will provide new opportunities for skilled Indian workers and professionals. With the conclusion of this agreement, Portugal and India will have a formal arrangement for recruitment of Indian workers", the government said in a statement.

Now the Indian workers would have enhanced job opportunities to work in Portugal and the government to government mechanism will ensure that the movement of workers takes place smoothly with the maximum support from both sides.

During the Covid pandemic, many Indians working abroad have lost their jobs because of the lockdown and Covid-19 protocol and they returned to India.

The services sector dominates the Portuguese economy, with tourism particularly important and there has been an ample job scope for Indians in the telecommunications industry, as well as in property, aerospace and biotechnology.

The capital town Lisbon has developed into a start-up hub in the last few years, with IT having become one of the country's key growth area.

Casual work is common as the Portuguese economy relies heavily on tourism, resulting in an abundance of teaching English as foreign language posts.