Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has urged the World Bank (WB) to recognize the contribution of expatriate Bangladeshis who are working hard to recover the world economic fallout caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Calling on the WB to recognize the hardships of these workers the minister said, “The appreciation of the efforts of these workers working in every major city of the world to revive the global economy will inspire not only our people but all the expatriate workers around the world.”
The finance minister made the remark at an annual meeting of the World Bank (WB) and IMF (International Monetary Fund) held virtually on Wednesday.
Along with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, IMF's South Asia Regional Vice President Hart Wying Schaefer, Acting Finance Minister of Afghanistan Abdul Hadi Arghiwal, Finance Minister of Bhutan Lyonpo Namgay Tshering, India’s Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani, Nepal Prime Minister’s Special Economic Adviser Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Maldives Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer, Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Sania Nishtar and Sri Lanka Education Minister G L Peiris took part in the virtual round-table.
Regarding social security measures taken by the government to protect families and workers amid the pandemic, the minister said, “Bangladesh has taken vigorous measures in different aspects to help the badly hit workers. Also, Bangladesh has the pragmatic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and hardworking citizens at home and abroad.”
Pointing out Bangladesh’s upward trend of inward remittance, the minister said, “We received the highest amount of remittances in the amount of $18.2 billion in FY 2019-2020. The first quarter of the current fiscal year 2020-2021 recorded a remittance of US 6.71 billion, up 49% from the same quarter a year earlier.”
Kamal added, "The 2% direct cash incentive policy announced by the government deserves praise in this regard.”
Around the world, about 11.6 million Bangladeshi citizens work in various fields. A survey conducted in Malaysia found that 36% of the managerial level foreigners in Malaysia are Bangladeshi nationals".
However, the finance minister further said the concerns over the returnee migrant workers could not be ignored due to the global economic shutdown.
Between April 1 and October 15, 1,95,898 workers returned to our country, and no new workers went abroad between April and June 2020, he said.
However, the minister said this is number not a big one compared to the total expatriate Bangladeshi community worldwide.
Even then, till October 15 of the current fiscal year, a total of 2,84,000 Bangladeshis went abroad for work, which is 26% more than the same period last year. About 60,000 workers are employed abroad every month.
"We have been very serious about helping workers return to their work abroad in the shortest possible time. Many of our expatriate workers have already returned to work abroad,” he said.
Mentioning the government’s social security programs, minister in April and May, a $1.3 million incentive package was announced for safe return of exalts to their workplaces.
Moreover, those expats who lost their jobs abroad were enrolled in a $83 million rehabilitation program and were included in other social security schemes.
In the current financial year, the government has allocated Taka 2,000 crore. Of that, a total of $240 million has been allocated to a project that will facilitate potential workers to get jobs abroad in a simpler and faster way to overcome the impact of Covid-19, he pointed out.
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