10.74 lakh Bangladeshi workers went abroad till June in 2022-23FY
The minister said that during the same period of last fiscal year (2021-22), a total of 9.7 lakh workers went abroad.
Dhaka: A total of 10.74 lakh workers went abroad for employment till June of the ongoing fiscal year of 2022-23, which is 15.59 percent more than the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Expatriates’ welfare minister Imran Ahmad told this in parliament replying to a tabled question from ruling Awami League lawmaker elected from Bhola Ali Azam.
The minister said that during the same period of last fiscal year (2021-22), a total of 9.7 lakh workers went abroad.
In response to a query of AL lawmaker Habibar Rahman from Bogura, the expatriates’ welfare minister said that there was a plan to sign agreements with new countries for manpower export.
He also said that process was underway to sign agreements with Libya, Malta, Albania, Romania and Serbia in this regard.
In response to the question of another AL lawmaker Nurannabi Chowdhury from Bhola-4, the minister said that since the establishment of Expatriate Welfare Bank, Tk 2081 crore had been distributed among around 1.14 lakh expatriate workers as loan for migration purposes.
Responding to a query from AL lawmaker AKM Rahmatullah from Dhaka, commerce minister Tipu Munshi said that earlier the domestic demand of tea in the country was less than the production and that’s why more tea was exported.
At present, the demand of tea in the country is about 100 million kilograms, he said, adding that as people’s purchasing power increases, all the tea produced in the country is used to meet domestic demand, leaving little surplus for export.
In order to increase the export of tea, the government as well as the tea board has taken various steps to increase the production of quality tea.
In reply to a query from AL lawmaker Nizam Uddin Hazari of Feni, the commerce minister said that there were trade missions of Bangladesh in 23 cities of 21 countries of the world.
They are Canberra, Brussels, Beijing, Kunming, Paris, Berlin, New Delhi, Kolkata, Tehran, Tokyo, Yangon, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Seoul, Singapore, Madrid, Geneva, Dubai, London, Washington DC and Los Angeles.
In the near future, there are plans to set up commercial wing in Brasilia, Turkey, Ankara, Mexico, Mexico City and Africa. Besides, there are plans to set up missions in Indonesia and Thailand, he said
