A Divisional Consultation on Migration and Reintegration, Service Delivery and Referrals was organised jointly by Wage Earners’ Welfare Board (WEWB), Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Bangladesh (MoEWOE) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Rangpur.

The second of a series of consultations was supported under Asia Regional Migration Programme (ARMP) funded by Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) of the State Department, the United States of America (USA).

The event served as a vital platform to address the challenges of migration and reintegration services, with a strong emphasis on promoting safe migration practices and also recognized the Govt of Bangladesh (GoB) led initiatives in migration and reintegration sector through interventions such as RAISE.

Since independence, approximately 16 million Bangladeshi men and women have embarked on journeys abroad in search of better livelihoods and have contributed significantly to the nation's economy through remittances.

However, the migration process oftentimes is fraught with risks, ranging from exploitation to rights violations, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive measures to safeguard the rights and well-being of migrants.

The Divisional consultation was held in Rangpur as part of an ongoing series of consultations to explore strategies and initiatives to mitigate these risks and ensure the safe migration and dignified return and reintegration of migrants into their communities.

Abdusattor Esoev, Chief of Mission of IOM Bangladesh, highlighted the importance of collaborative initiatives to promote safe migration and facilitating the successful reintegration of returnees. "This consultation is an important platform to address the challenges faced by returnees and to reinforce our joint commitment to promoting safe migration practices".

Chief Guest of the consultation, Md Ruhul Amin, Secretary, Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, reiterated the government's unwavering dedication to promoting safe migration practices and supporting returnees. “The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment is prioritizing lowering the cost of migration. The middlemen are being able to influence the prospective migrants due to lack of information on safe migration channels. Through initiatives like this I hope we would be able to promote safe migration channels.”

He further went on to state that “The RAISE project is the first of its kind of project globally to support the returnees by any government. There are projects for prospective migrants, but this project focuses on returnees. This is the uniqueness of this project.”

The Chair of the event, Riaz Uddin, Deputy Director of Local Government, Rangpur, expressed his gratitude to IOM, the World Bank and the Ministry for organizing this consultation and for providing him the opportunity to work on the referral systems under the RAISE project at the Divisional level. He assured his office would provide full support to the RAISE project.

The successful conclusion of the Divisional Consultation marks a significant step forward in strengthening efforts in supporting the holistic well-being of returnees and promoting safe migration practices in Bangladesh

The successful conclusion of the Divisional Consultation marks a significant step forward in strengthening efforts in supporting the holistic well-being of returnees and promoting safe migration practices in Bangladesh.