Govt awards 20 NRBs with CIP status

The government has awarded 20 non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) with Commercially Important Person (CIP) status for their outstanding contribution to sending remittances to the country.

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment (EWOE) Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain distributed the CIP cards among the recipients at Probashi Kalyan Bhaban in the city Wednesday.

This year the government has announced the name of 20 CIPs. Of them 9 got the award for the year 2011 and 10 for 2012 thanks to their sending a significant amount of remittances to the country. Besides, one of them got the award for importing goods from Bangladesh.

Among the CIP award recipients, Habibur Rahman from Oman, Jashim Uddin from Oman, Rafiqul Islam from Switzerland, Yasin Chowdhury from Oman, Firoz-ul-Alam Khan from Russia, Osman Ali Khan from Saudi Arabia, Mahtabur Rahman from the UAE, Parvez Tamal from Russia, Shahid Hossain Jahangir from Australia, Mahbubul Alam from Russia, Akkas Miah from Saudi Arabia, Aktar Hossain from the UAE, Abul Kashem from Kuwait, Delwar Hossain from Qatar, Zagir Hossain Chowdhury from the UAE received CIP cards from the minister at the programme.     

While addressing as the chief guest the minister said the remitters are contributing a lot to the country's economy. The ministry is working for giving proper facilities to the remitters.

He also said the remittance inflow can increase significantly if the migrants send their hard-earned money through the formal channel.

The minister said the amount of remittance can be increased to US$ 19 billion to $ 20 billion from the present $ 14 billion within a short period if they use the official channel.

Among others, EWOE Secretary Khandaker Shawkat Hossain and Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) Director General Begum Shamsun Nahar were present at the programme.