Govt plans to send 60 lakh workers abroad in five years: State minister

State Minister for Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury on Tuesday said the government has an action plan to send 60 lakh workers abroad in the next five years.

"The government has an action plan to send 60 lakh workers to different foreign countries in the next five years", said the state minister while responding to a query raised by treasury bench lawmaker Nurunnabi Chowdhury of Bhola-3 at the question-answer session at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in Dhaka.

To send workers abroad is an ongoing process, he told the parliament chaired by Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair, reports BSS.

After independence, opportunities for migration and overseas employment have been created for Bangladeshi citizens due to the appropriate, time-befitting and farsighted vision of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Overseas employment starts its journey by sending 6,087 workers abroad. Overseas employment is rising day to day due to the government's appropriate steps.

In 2022, 11,35,873 workers left the country for overseas employment which was over 13 lakh in 2023.

Sending of overseas workers has started again to United Arab Emirates (UAE), Maldives and Malaysia , said the state minister, adding a memorandum of understating (MoU) has been signed with 17 foreign countries for sending manpower from Bangladesh, the state minister said responding to another question brought by Nur Uddin Chowdhury Nayan MP of Lakhipur-2.

Even the government has taken a project for employing one lakh drivers in home and abroad.