Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed yesterday expressed hope that 10 lakh workers will go abroad this year.
“I hope 10 lakh workers will go abroad this year. Currently, an average of one lakh workers is going abroad every month. Of which 70 to 80 thousand workers are going to Saudi Arabia,” he said.
He made the remarks at a view exchanging meeting with stakeholders on safe immigration here, a press release said.
He also attended an iftar party there, the release added.
The minister said the Saudi embassy in Dhaka had issued 1,70,000 visas in the last two months.
The country issued an average of 4,000 visas per day but the pace was hindered due to the pandemic situation.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Dr Ahmed Munirus Saleheen also said: “We are now emphasizing on efficiency in sending workers abroad.”
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) Executive Director C R Abrar, Bangladesh Deputy Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Fathima Nusrath Ghazzali and representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Laetitia Weibel also spoke, among others, on the occasion.
