DHAKA: Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Engineer Khandker Mosharraf Hossain is scheduled to leave Dhaka on Saturday with the expectations of reopening the Saudi manpower market for the Bangladeshis which is almost shut for a long time.
A few years back lakhs of Bangladeshis used to go to Saudi Arabia for work in various sectors of the country. But at present the sending of labors has come down to thousands from lakhs.
According to foreign ministry sources, the visiting minister will have bilateral talks with his Saudi counterpart Dr. Adel Faqih.
The minister is also scheduled to hold talks with the governors of Dammam and Makkah to enter Saudi market like earlier times.
A source of Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh told banglanews that the Bangladesh minister will be accompanied by seven-member delegation.
The delegation will include senior secretary of PMO Abul Kalam Azad, Expatriates’ Welfare ministry secretary Khandaker M Iftekhar Haider, Director General (DG) of BMET Begum Shamsun Nahar and DG of foreign ministry (West region desk) Nazmul Islam.
While talking to banglanews, the Expatriate Welfare Minister said that Saudi Arabia is a big market for Bangladeshi skilled and semi-skilled labors. Though the market is not totally closed for us, it has shrinked substantially. The Saudi authorities will be requested to take more manpower from here.
Minister Mosharraf said that meanwhile we have registered 14 lakhs people for working abroad who will be sent at a minimum immigration cost.
The matter will be also brought to the notice of the Saudi government, he added.
However, no agreement will be signed between the two countries this time, the minister said.
The bilateral talks between the two ministers will be held in evening of January 19.
The foreign ministry sources told that a visit by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled for a long time but it is not yet finalized.
A high official of foreign ministry told banglanews that Saudi Arabia is a very lucrative market for Bangladesh which is almost closed for a long time. We are ready to send the labors of any category at a minimum cost.
But, we will give priorities on the security and immigration cost, the ministry official informed. The official further informed that discussion is going on to sent female labors.
It may be mentioned here the Saudi government stopped recruiting workers from Bangladesh in 2008. Even they stopped issuing visa, changing of work permit (Akama) and renewal of those.
However, in 2013 due to several visits of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Welfare Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain and the then Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, the expatriate Bangladeshis got the opportunities of changing Akamas and amnesty for staying there illegally.
At that time, the Saudi Labor minister assured the visiting ministers of recruiting several lakhs labors form Bangladesh in the construction works in six mega cities of the country.
BDST: 1705 HRS, JAN 16, 2015
