Bangladeshi people living in different foreign countries have been playing a vital role in enriching the country’s financial sector, experts said.They pointed out that Bangladeshi expatriates send $15 billion every year to the country. The experts came up with these observations at a discussion styled ‘Regional Consultation of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM)’ in a city hotel on Saturday.
They went on saying if all Bangladeshi nationals who leave the country for a job abroad are sent to foreign countries through legal channels and provided with all facilities, the yearly inflow of remittance would be increased by $20 billion to $25 billion. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Expatriates Welfare and
Overseas Employment Imran Ahmad and migration experts took part in the discussion. Md Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh views migration as an integral component of its development aspiration. “We constantly advocate in favour of ethical recruitment, opening up of new legal pathways, responsible migration, decent work, protection of migrants’ rights including that of their family members, lowering the costs of remittance sending, portability of earned benefits, diaspora engagements, and informed and sustainable voluntary return,” he added.
He said the government is also aware of the reintegration of returnees and their social and economic assimilation in the society through their meaningful engagement in nation building and backstopping their entrepreneurship potentials. Alam mentioned that migration has been embedded in our national development policy to pave our journey to graduate from LDCs by 2024 and a become Developed Country by 2041.
“However, as we implement the Compact, we should also be aware of issues such as climate change, identity politics, national populist measures, and rapid technological progress -- all of which will impact the world of work,” he said. He said Bangladesh painfully recognizes that cross-border forced displacement caused by violence, extremism and ultra-nationalism compounds the task ahead of us.
“Against this backdrop, I would like to mention that since August 2017, around 1.1 million Rohingya from Northern Rakhine State of Myanmar sought refuse in Bangladesh,” Shahriar Alam said. The state minister said the Bangladesh Government, besides bilateral engagement with Myanmar to solve the problem, has engaged its fullest strength to cope with the humanitarian needs at the ground despite its resources constraints.
“In this context, I would like to highlight that closing the borders to stop the flow of immigrants is not the solution or safeguard to uphold countries sovereign authority,” he said. He added we need to be more rational and less emotional while dealing with international migration.