Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia held high-level consultations Monday on expanding labour cooperation, cutting migration costs, and strengthening protections for the nearly three million Bangladeshi workers employed across the Kingdom—the single largest overseas employment destination for the country's migrant workforce.

Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Dr. Abdullah ibn Dhafer ibn Ubayya paid a courtesy call on Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury at the minister's office in Dhaka, where the two sides covered a broad agenda ranging from recruitment reform to workers' rights and digital innovation.

Easing the Path to Work

Minister Chowdhury opened the talks by conveying, on behalf of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Bangladesh's deep appreciation for Saudi Arabia's continued role in absorbing Bangladeshi labour. He then turned swiftly to reform, urging that the registration process for Bangladeshi recruiting agencies at the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka be simplified and that overall migration costs be significantly reduced, a persistent burden that has long pushed workers into debt before they even board a flight.

The minister also called for an expansion of the ongoing Skill Verification Program—currently covering 73 trades—to ensure that workers arriving in Saudi Arabia meet internationally recognised standards. He further proposed the creation of a digital "Qualified Talent Bank," a verified database of skilled workers that he said could compress recruitment timelines from several weeks to just a few days.

Modernising Training, Protecting Rights

Both sides agreed on the need to modernise Bangladesh's Technical Training Centres (TTCs) in line with Saudi standards, with discussions centring on a joint supervision model to align curricula with the Kingdom's evolving labour market demands.

Ministry Secretary Md. Mokhter Ahmed raised two longstanding grievances: the high cost of Iqama — Saudi residency permit — renewals, and delays in repatriating the bodies of deceased Bangladeshi workers. He urged Saudi cooperation on both fronts.

The ambassador acknowledged the Iqama burden, noting that renewal fees are legally the employer's responsibility but are routinely passed on to workers. "That should not happen," he said, while calling on Dhaka to bring approximately 190 non-compliant Bangladeshi recruiting agencies registered in Saudi Arabia to account.

Minister Chowdhury, in turn, reaffirmed the government's zero-tolerance stance on illegal transactions, irregularities, and harassment in the manpower recruitment process.

Digital Tools and White-Collar Opportunities

The ambassador proposed the development of a dedicated mobile application, built in coordination with both governments and the Saudi Embassy, to allow workers to lodge and resolve complaints swiftly — a measure that could significantly improve real-time accountability in the field.

Minister Chowdhury also pressed for greater recruitment of Bangladeshi professionals in white-collar and skilled positions, signalling Dhaka's ambition to move beyond low-wage labour categories and tap Saudi demand for qualified professionals.

Broader Cooperation: Scholarships and Air Connectivity

On educational ties, the ambassador said Saudi Arabia currently offers scholarships to around 250 Bangladeshi students and indicated plans to double that figure to 500.

The meeting closed on a note of regional connectivity, with the envoy calling for direct Saudi Airlines flights between Saudi Arabia and Sylhet — home to one of Bangladesh's largest diaspora-sending communities. The minister extended a personal invitation to the ambassador to visit the city and pledged to pursue the proposal with aviation authorities.

The ambassador noted that many of the issues discussed are already captured in a bilateral agreement signed between the two countries in October 2025, and proposed that outstanding matters be folded into future agreements through continued dialogue.

BNP Chairperson's Adviser Dr Mohammad Enamul Haque Chowdhury, Saudi Embassy Consular Abdullah Al-Harbi, and senior officials from the relevant ministries were present at the meeting.

-Source: BSS