Migrant workers drive Bangladesh economy

Bangladesh's economic development largely depends on remittance sent by migrant workers, which is one of the sources of earning foreign currencies, Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith said yesterday.

A third of the 1.8 million people who enter the job market a year go abroad for work, Muhith said, adding that remittance inflow will increase significantly if the figure can be increased to 1 million in five years.

The minister spoke at a discussion in the capital, Dhaka. The expatriates welfare and overseas employment ministry organised the event on the second day of a three-day programme to mark International Migrants Day.

The minister hoped the remittance inflow would cross US$14 billion mark this year.

The country exports goods worth around $26 billion a year, but its net export stands at around $6 billion to $7 billion a year, as most of the raw materials of the exported goods are imported, he said.

The incumbent government sent about 2 million Bangladeshis from January 2009 to October 2012 and the country received around $44.22 billion in remittances during the period, said Expatriates' Welfare Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain.

Expatriates' contribution to the national GDP (gross domestic product) is 11 per cent, Hossain said.

Over 30,000 female workers go abroad a year to work, and the government has been working to transform them into skilled hands to create more jobs, he said.

The government has also taken some steps, including rehabilitations of the returned migrant workers and scholarships for their children, to ensure better facilities for the expatriates and their families, the minister said.

Around 25 per cent of the total employment comes from overseas employment, which should be increased to 50 per cent in five years, said Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud, chairman of the standing committee on the expatriates' welfare ministry.

He urged the government to take a 25-year plan to analyse the future demand for manpower in different countries and effective steps to produce skilled manpower.

The labour force should be given more technical training and should have skills in foreign languages, Mahmud said.

He also stressed the need for exploring new markets for manpower export, he said.

At the programme, two Tunisian citizens -- Narges Ben Manuka and Lutfy Jaziri who work for an Islamic relief organisation in Tunisia -- were honoured for their contributions to ensure protection to Bangladeshi migrant workers during the Arab Spring.

Besides, 48 children of expatriates' workers were given educational scholarships at the function.