Japan and Pakistan signed a memorandum of cooperation on Monday aimed at paving the way for skilled Pakistani workers to work in Japan, the Japanese Embassy said.

The cooperation framework agreement provides that “specified skilled workers” who pass a required examination and a basic Japanese-language comprehension test will be eligible for employment in Japan, according to a press release by the embassy.

It said Pakistan is among the countries from which Japan is looking to hire skilled workers, having already inked similar memoranda with Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

The embassy also mentioned new statuses of residence created by the Japanese government for specific skilled workers, which became effective on April 1, and that the nation expects to hire 340,000 such laborers from across the world over the next five years.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Kentaro Sonoura, a special adviser on foreign affairs to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan conveyed his appreciation of the deal in a meeting with Sonoura.