PM to chair first steering committee meet on overseas employment today

Strengthening the Probashi Kallyan Bank (PKB) and labour wings abroad coupled with improving services at the airports are set to be high on the agenda in the first steering committee meeting on overseas employment to be held in the capital today (Sunday).
A total of 34 members, including 13 ministers from different key ministries and secretaries, are expected to be present at the meeting.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who heads the committee, is scheduled to chair the meeting at her office in the city.
The meeting will discuss about improving the services for the migrant workers at the airports, increasing manpower and strengthening logistic support at the labour welfare wings abroad, social safety net issues, data and information regarding migrant workers etc.
It will also hold talks about strengthening the activities of Probashi Kallyan Bank (PKB) and increase the inflow of remittances.
Apart from the committee members, Anisul Islam Mahmud, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEWOE) and Benjir Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) will be present at the meeting.
The committee will hold at least two meetings a year to discuss necessary issues, said an official at the MoEWOE. He said the meeting will help reduce the coordination gap among the relevant ministries and will also help ensure safe migration as well as increase the number overseas employments.
The Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Policy- 2016 mentioned about the steering committee on overseas employment. The policy was published in 2017.
Over 12 million workers went abroad since 1976, the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) data showed.
Remittance inflow hit record US$ 16.42 billion in the fiscal year (FY) 2018-19 against $ 14.98 billion a year before, according to the Bangladesh Bank statistics. Bangladesh received $ 12.77 billion in remittance in FY '17 and $ 14.93 billion in FY '16, the data also revealed.
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