Bangladesh earns $25.74bn remittances in 8 months

Bangladesh received 25.74 billion US dollars in remittances in the eight months leading up to October 10, while 443,021 workers secured jobs in 109 countries, according to data from Bangladesh Bank and the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).

Saudi Arabia was the largest destination for Bangladeshi workers, receiving 218,508 during the period, BMET data showed. Singapore took 53,297 workers, followed by Qatar with 42,516, the Maldives with 24,070, the United Arab Emirates with 20,661 and Kuwait with 20,254.

Smaller numbers went to Jordan (10,010), Italy (7,077), Portugal (5,386) and Iraq (2,878).
Bangladesh Bank data showed that monthly remittance inflows ranged from 2.77 billion US dollars in September to 3.75 billion US dollars in March. A further 990 million US dollars arrived during the first 10 days of October.

Government officials said the war in the Middle East had reduced demand for workers in major overseas labour markets.

Mahdi Amin, the prime minister’s adviser on expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment, said the government was working through diplomatic channels to reopen closed labour markets, identify new destinations and expand employment opportunities in existing markets.

He said training programmes were being expanded to equip prospective migrants with foreign-language skills alongside technical and vocational training.

State Minister Md Nurul Hoque said about 350,000 Bangladeshi workers had travelled to the Middle East despite the war. He added that steps were being taken to regularise the status of Bangladeshis who had become undocumented in the region, while new employment opportunities were emerging in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

New labour market 

Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury said the process of sending 10,000 workers to Malaysia at no cost to them was under way. Formalities for sending workers to the country under calling visas were also in the final stages.

The five-year labour memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia, signed on December 19, 2021, expires on December 31. Bangladesh hopes to send more workers under a new agreement, the ministry said.

The ministry also reported interest from several other countries in recruiting Bangladeshi workers.
Oman has expressed interest in hiring 10,000 workers across different sectors.

Italy’s ambassador, Antonio Alessandro, said Rome wanted to receive around 12,000 Bangladeshis annually, along with their families.

During a meeting with Choudhury in May, Qatar expressed interest in recruiting skilled workers in four trades: electricians, welders, air-conditioning technicians and plumbers. According to the ministry, Qatar plans to train and recruit workers directly using a list of Bangladeshi technical training centres.

Dubai Taxi Company has also expressed interest in recruiting 6,000 skilled drivers, the ministry said. Nurul Hoque called for reducing the cost of sending workers to Dubai.

Choudhury said there had been no visible improvement in the war situation so far. He added that the government was working to ensure the safety of expatriate workers while continuing efforts to send more Bangladeshis overseas for employment.