Bangladesh received $25.74 billion in remittances in the eight months leading up to October 10, while 443,021 workers found jobs overseas in 109 countries, state-run news agency BSS reported, citing Bangladesh Bank and Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) data.

Saudi Arabia took the most workers, 218,508, according to the BMET data. Singapore received 53,297, Qatar 42,516, the Maldives 24,070, the United Arab Emirates 20,661, and Kuwait 20,254. Smaller numbers went to Jordan (10,010), Italy (7,077), Portugal (5,386) and Iraq (2,878).

Monthly remittance inflows ranged from $2.77 billion in September to $3.75 billion in March, and $990 million arrived in the first 10 days of October, Bangladesh Bank data showed.

Government officials said the war in the Middle East had cut labour demand in major markets. Mahdi Amin, the prime minister’s adviser for expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment, said the government was working to reopen closed labour markets, find new destinations, and expand openings in existing ones through diplomacy. He said training was being expanded to teach prospective migrants foreign languages, alongside technical and vocational skills.

State Minister Md. Nurul Hoque told BSS that about 350,000 workers still went to the Middle East despite the war. He said steps were being taken to legalise the status of Bangladeshis who had become undocumented there, and that openings were emerging in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

New markets

Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury said the process of sending 10,000 workers to Malaysia free of cost was under way, and that formalities for sending personnel there under calling visas were in the final stages. The five-year labour MoU with Malaysia, signed on December 19, 2021, expires on December 31, and Bangladesh hopes to send more workers under a new agreement, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, other countries have shown interest in Bangladeshi workers:

Oman has expressed interest in recruiting 10,000 workers across sectors.

Italy’s ambassador, Antonio Alessandro, said Rome would like to take around 12,000 Bangladeshis a year with their families.

Qatar, in a May meeting with Choudhury, said it wanted skilled workers in four trades: electricians, welders, air-conditioning technicians, and plumbers. The ministry said Qatar would train and recruit workers itself, using a list of Bangladeshi technical training centres.

Dubai Taxi Company has expressed interest in recruiting 6,000 skilled drivers, the ministry said. Nurul Hoque asked for lower costs of sending workers to Dubai.

Choudhury said there had been no visible improvement in the war situation so far and that the government was working to ensure the safety of expatriate workers while also pushing to send more workers abroad.

Source: BSS