Staff Reporter:
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul yesterday said the govern-ment is working sincerely for the welfare and betterment of the Bangladeshi expatriates.
“The Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), Wage Earners’ Welfare Board (WEWB), Probashi Kallyan Bank and Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL) under the ministry are working sincerely for the betterment and welfare of the Bangla-deshi expatriates,” he said.
The adviser said this while addressing as the chief guest a program on the International Migrants Day and the National Expatriates Day at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the city. Adviser of Local Government Rural Development and Cooperatives Ministry Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain was present as the special guest.
Recalling and honoring the contributions and sacrifices of migrants, he said despite facing various adverse circumstances, nearly 1.5 crore expatriate Bangladeshis continue to make outstanding con-tributions to the development of their families and the economic prosperity of the country.
Since the current government assumed office, there has been a rise in remittance inflow over the past few months, which is playing an important role in increasing the country’s foreign exchange reserves, he said.
“Our remittance inflow has increased 26 percent (in the past few months),” he said, adding that expatriates are the main pillar of the country’s economy.
The current government, formed through a student-people mass uprising, has undertaken various activities for the welfare of expatriates since taking office, he said.
Initiatives have been taken to reduce the processing time and simplify procedures for workers go-ing abroad, he added.
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus inaugurated a special lounge for the country’s migrant workers at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), said the adviser.
He said the Bangladeshi expatriates have significant contributions to the student-people mass up-rising as they stood against the fascist Hasina-led government.
With the intervention and sincerity of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi expatri-ates who were arrested abroad for agitating on streets against the Hasina-led government, got the rare opportunity to return to their homeland (Bangladesh), he said.
With the help of Probashi Kallyan Bank, the interim government is taking steps to rehabilitate those expatriates who took risks during the mass uprising, he said.
Many big companies and industries of the country have also showed their interests in providing jobs to them, he said.
“Though passport issue for expatriates is not under my ministry’s jurisdiction, I have talked to the authorities concerned to solve the passport related problems,” said Asif Nazrul.
“You all know that the government has decided to start issuing machine-readable passports on De-cember 15 to Bangladeshi migrant workers facing uncertainty abroad over renewing their pass-ports,” he said.
The expatriates living in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia have got the priority initially, he said, adding that all expatriates will get this facility after three or four weeks.
Speaking on the occasion, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, also the youth and sports adviser said that the active role of expatriates in the student-worker-people mass uprising against discrimina-tion is commendable.
They were sent to jails as they stood against fascist Hasina-led government risking their future in foreign countries, he said.
They agitated despite knowing that holding rallies was not allowed in those foreign countries, he said, adding that they ignored the foreign country’s laws in the interest of the country.
When the fascist government shut down the internet after July 20 and carried out horrible massa-cres against the agitating students and people, the expatriate Bangladeshis came forward and raised their voices against the fascist government by highlighting the situation in Bangladesh, he added.
He expressed his sincere gratitude to the expatriates for this.
Bangladeshi Remittance Warrior in Jordan Fazila Akhter and Bangladeshi Remittance Warrior in Saudi Arabia Gias Uddin and Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Bangladesh Lance Bonneau attended the event as guests of honors.
Later, adviser Dr Asif Nazrul handed over awards to Commercially Important Persons (CIPs) and distributed stipends among meritorious children of expatriate workers.
