Jamil Mahmud

Md Monir, a migrant worker, returned home from the United Arab Emirates with severe physical pain in June 2021.

Despite sending well over a million migrants abroad last year, Bangladesh is unlikely to get the desired remittance from them as almost four out of five of them were less skilled.

The country’s per capita external debt currently stands at more than double from what was seven years ago as both public and private sector foreign loans have seen an increase by this time.

The private sector’s foreign debt decreased by 4.3 per cent, or more than $1 billion, in the second quarter of the current fiscal year following Bangladesh Bank’s strict measures to control imports.

As Bangladesh sends tens of thousands of migrant workers abroad each year, scores return home prematurely after suffering various injuries or illnesses in the host countries

Bangladesh sent the highest number of migrant workers in its history in 2022 thanks to a surge in demand for labourers in the Middle Eastern countries but remittance receipts did not go up proportionately.  

Two of the government’s 28 Covid-19 stimulus packages saw a fresh injection of Tk 50,000 crore in the ongoing financial year, but only 4 per cent of the fund was disbursed between July and October.   

The government has taken a fresh initiative to import rice amid concerns that the domestic procurement target during the ongoing Aman season might not be achieved. 

Illegal migration of Bangladeshis to Europe through various Mediterranean routes saw an upsurge this year, raising concerns over the government measures to control it effectively.

After the prime minister’s directive, the Finance Division yesterday asked the authorities to cut government spending on land acquisition, building construction, and machinery purchase.

The government managed to implement 85 per cent of the budget in the last fiscal year despite spending a huge amount as subsidies and incentives, raising questions about the trend of unveiling bigger budgets year after year.  

With a $21-billion inward remittance anticipated, Bangladesh is likely to be the seventh highest recipient of remittance globally this year, said the World Bank’s latest report.

In recent years, Bangladeshi expatriates have been registering as members of the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board (WEWB), which enables them to avail of its various welfare services, right from their host countries.

The growing number of people from Bangladesh registering for work overseas indicates that international migration from the country may soon surpass pre-pandemic levels, according to a recent report by the World Bank.

The Asian Development Bank is ready to give over $20 billion to finance Bangladesh’s road and railway projects but raised concerns over the timely implementation of schemes.

Brunei wants to hire Bangladeshi workers only under a government-to-government arrangement to streamline the recruitment process, which has been plagued with irregularities for years.

Returnee migrant workers find it difficult to meet the reintegration loan eligibility set by the Probashi Kallyan Bank.

More than 1,000 Bangladeshi undocumented migrants have enlisted their names at the Bangladesh embassy in Greece for a regularisation process of the Greek government, which is yet to start.

Fiji has emerged as a potential destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers with job opportunities opening up for foreign workers in various sectors including construction, garment and agriculture.

About 16,000 Bangladeshi undocumented migrant workers have so far been regularised in the Maldives under a programme of the Maldivian economic development ministry, according to the Bangladesh High Commission in Malé.