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Bangladesh to send 900,000 workers abroad

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-27 21:03

DHAKA  -- The Bangladeshi caretaker government Sunday said it has set the target of sending a record number of 900,000 manpower abroad this fiscal year (from July 2008 to June 2009).

In the last fiscal year (from July 2007 to June 2008), the country sent 832,000 workers mainly to Malaysia and oil-rich Middle Eastern countries, making record remittance of over 6.6 billion US dollars.

This amount was more than seven percent of the country's GDP, five times the overseas aid, and ten times the foreign direct investment.

In this fiscal year the remittance is expected to exceed nine billion US dollars, caretaker government Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, who is also in charge of the Ministry of Overseas Employment, said Sunday while briefing Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed.

The export of manpower is Bangladesh's second largest foreign exchange earning sector after the apparel sector that used to fetch around nine billion US dollars a year.

Of the targeted 900,000 workforce to be sent this fiscal year, the number of skilled and semi-skilled would be 400,000.

The foreign adviser said the upgrade of skill is being done by 38 Technical Training Centres whose programs are now being designed in line with demand. This fiscal year the Technical Training Centres will produce 49,000 trainees, a record, as compared to last fiscal year's 26,000.

Iftekhar said diplomatic efforts are constantly underway with countries where the Bangladeshi workers were facing problems, and many of these issues have been resolved.