State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury today told the parliament that over the past 48 years, approximately 1.63 crore Bangladeshis have secured employment in 176 countries worldwide.
He said this in response to a question from Awami League MP Shafiul Alam Chowdhury.
"From 1976 to March 2024, a total of 1 crore 63 lakh 12 thousand and 324 workers have gone for work in different countries," Shofiqur explained.
However, the State Minister acknowledged that his ministry lacks data on the number of Bangladeshi citizens residing illegally abroad without proper documentation.
Addressing another query from independent MP Abdullah Nahid Nigar, Shofiqur attributed the recent revitalization of the foreign labor market to effective government measures following the Coronavirus pandemic. He highlighted that in the fiscal year 2022-23 alone, the number of workers who went abroad was 11.26 lakh.
In a related discussion, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder responded to AL MP Morshed Alam from Noakhali-2 about the current food grain reserves. As of April 30, government warehouses held a total of 11 lakh 38 thousand 463 metric tons, comprising 7.86 lakh metric tons of rice and 3.52 lakh metric tons of wheat.