Remittance flow rises 7.1pc in July-April

Remittance flow has registered 7.1 per cent growth in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year (FY), 2014-15, compared to the same period (July-April) of the previous fiscal, said the finance minister in his budget speech on Thursday.
He hoped that the ongoing initiatives to expand employment opportunities in the traditional markets and explore new destinations as well as provision of low-interest credit to expatriate workers will substantially increase manpower export and remittance flow in the coming days.
Export of manpower to Malaysia has begun on G2G basis. It can be further enhanced with the cooperation of private sector.
Besides, the number of migrant population will rise following re-opening of Bangladesh manpower market in Saudi Arabia.
Abul Maal Abdul Muhith also said to ensure welfare of the migrant workers various steps have been taken, like - issuing machine readable passports (MRPs) through outsourcing to Bangladeshis working in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Qatar.
"We will have to strengthen this process, taking into account different internationally prescribed deadlines," he said.
A taskforce is working to prevent illegal activities of manpower recruiting agencies. Besides, the government has taken steps to update the Overseas Employment Policy to ensure expansion of overseas job market as well as skill development, safe migration, security and welfare of the expatriate workers, he added.
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