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Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon today stressed the need for preparing a realistic roadmap to send skilled manpower to the Europe, saying remittance earners play a vital role in strengthening the national economy.
"Remittances sent by expatriates are one of the driving forces of our economy. The government and relevant stakeholders must work together to enhance this flow and create a new labour market abroad," he said.
The minister made the remarks while speaking at a seminar titled 'Ten lakh skilled manpower in the European labour market: Presentation of the masterplan (2026-2031) and ensuring the state rights of expatriates' at Jatiya Press Club this afternoon.
Italy-Bangla Shamannay Unnayan Samity and Bangladesh Probashi Unnayan Samity jointly arranged the seminar.
Speaking as the chief guest, Swapon said due to the looting of the fallen government, Bangladesh inherited a fragile economy and a huge debt burden. "We do not want to remain inactive by using the mistakes of the past."
He said it is very important to increase the scope of remittance income to overcome this situation and make the economy self-reliant.
"To make our leader and state leader Tarique Rahman's slogan of 'Bangladesh first' a reality, the fields of employment and foreign exchange earnings must be given top priority," he said.
Presenting the current context of foreign exchange earnings, the minister said, "Our main areas of earning foreign exchange are basically two - the ready-made garment (RMG) sector and remittances. Every year, we earn about US$ 40-42 billion from RMG sector and about US$ 20 billion from remittances. But to survive in this import-dependent economy, it is not enough to rely only on these two sectors."
He put emphasis on expanding the scope of export products and further expanding the export market for employment and human resources abroad to ensure remittance flow.
Highlighting the tourism sector, Swapon said it could become a strong alternative source of foreign exchange if international-standard infrastructure is developed in areas such as Cox's Bazar and Kuakata, attracting more foreign visitors.
He said Bangladesh is currently in the golden age of demographic dividend. "We need to send this huge working manpower not only as workers, but also trained with advanced knowledge and skills and send it to the global market," he added.
Describing expatriate Bangladeshis as 'ambassadors of the country', the minister stressed the importance of ensuring that workers abroad maintain discipline and comply with local laws. He also emphasized providing them with language training, skills development and moral guidance.
Swapon assured that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting would extend full support in awareness campaigns and publicity efforts in this regard.
At the seminar, a master plan was presented aiming to send 10 lakh skilled workers to the European Union labour market over the next five years. Participants also discussed measures for ensuring expatriates' voting rights and reserved seats for them in the Jatiya Sangsad.
