Find new labour market

Expatriate income is very important in the economy of Bangladesh. Manpower export is one of the sources of foreign exchange earnings of the country. Saudi Arabia was once the biggest labour market of Bangladesh. Along with this Oman and Kuwait was also big market. The neighboring country of Malaysia also once became popular with the country's migrant workers.

Bangladesh is going to lose the opportunity to export manpower to various European countries. In 2021, the foreign minister of Maldives visited Bangladesh and told a joint press briefing that Maldives will take more workers from Bangladesh. They will hire workers from this country by creating a structure based on the agreement. At that time, Maldives also signed a memorandum of understanding with Bangladesh. But the same Maldives has now announced that they will not take any more unskilled workers from Bangladesh in their labour market.

This information was confirmed in a notification of the Bangladesh High Commission in Maldives last Wednesday. According to the notification, according to the current law of Maldives, one lakh workers from one country can work here. In that context, the Maldives government has stopped issuing new work visas for Bangladeshis. However, the High Commission is continuing its efforts to increase the Bangladesh quota and re-introduce visas. The notification also informed that there is no free visa here. The employees have to work at the company where they got the visa. Maldivian labour market has been disrupted due to illegal recruitment.

The reality for migrant workers in Bangladesh is that many old markets have closed. New markets are not opening. Again, many old markets have also shrunk due to various reasons. Bangladesh lags far behind many neighboring countries in terms of foreign employment. One of the main reasons for this is our backwardness in creating skilled manpower. You have to be more proactive in this regard. New labor market needs to be found. Emphasis should be placed on exporting skilled manpower. Export of skilled manpower can lead to higher remittance earnings. Because skilled manpower will naturally earn more. This requires proper planning.

Expatriate income is very important in the economy of Bangladesh. Manpower export is one of the sources of foreign exchange earnings of the country. Exports of manpower to Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Malaysia have decreased. However, despite the opportunity to export manpower to various European countries, manpower is not being exported as expected due to various reasons. We are losing these markets. Now we have to find a new labor market. Efforts should be made to increase the export of new manpower on the basis of discussions in the old markets.