The Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment held an inter-ministerial meeting on Thursday to plan the proper observance of "International Migrants' Day" and "National Expatriates' Day," according to a statement from the ministry.

The meeting, held at the ministry's conference room, was chaired by State Minister Md Nurul Haque, who outlined several decisions related to the observance of the two occasions.

During the meeting, the state minister highlighted instances of honesty and humanity among expatriate workers that have been reported in the media over time, including returning money found on the street, saving colleagues or local residents from danger, and donating blood to the sick.

He called for formally recognizing not only Commercially Important Persons (CIPs) but also ordinary expatriate workers for such commendable acts on these occasions.

The junior minister also directed that, beyond the national level, the two days be observed with full solemnity at the district and upazila levels, as well as at Bangladesh missions abroad.

In addition, the state minister placed special emphasis on quickly introducing a performance-based "grading system" for recruiting agencies to reduce fraud and ensure transparency.

The inter-ministerial meeting was attended by the ministry's secretary, Md Mokhtar Ahmed; additional secretary Ahmadul Haque; representatives of civil society; and officials from various related ministries.

International Migrants Day is observed worldwide on December 18 each year, as designated by the United Nations. Separately, the Bangladesh government has declared December 30 as "National Expatriates' Day" in recognition of the contributions of overseas workers, first observed in 2023.