Foreign Affairs Md Touhid Hossain saidcon Thursday the government would bring back documented Bangladeshis first from Lebanon who want to return voluntarily.  Briefing reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hossain said there are some Bangladeshis who are not willing to return despite knowing the danger as they are thinking of income sources once they return.  He also said there are some Bangladeshis who are not willing to return as they are working in safe areas.  The Adviser said the government is exploring both air and sea routes to ensure the safe return of Bangladeshis in phases, who got stuck in troubled Lebanon. The Adviser said they are seeking cooperation from the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) in this regard. Bangladesh to take steps to bring Hasina back following arrest warrant: Foreign Adviser There are 70,000 to 1 lakh Bangladeshis in Lebanon and around 1800 got enrolled to return to Bangladesh.  Each batch of the returnees may consist of at least 50 Bangladeshis. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment are working together for the return of Bangladeshis trapped in war-torn Lebanon. The government is working closely with all concerned to bring back all the Bangladeshis who wish to return from Lebanon safely, said the foreign ministry. Earlier, an inter-ministerial meeting was held with the participation of Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin, Expatriates’ Welfare Secretary Md Ruhul Amin and Managing Director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited Dr Md Shafiqur Rahman. Bangladesh's mission heads assigned to the Middle East joined the meeting on the Zoom platform. Steps taken to ensure the safe return of Bangladeshis from war-hit Lebanon, said the ministry. Italy suspends validity of work permit for Bangladeshis, other nationals The Foreign Secretary has issued necessary instructions to the Bangladeshi Ambassador  in Lebanon to take necessary measures for the safe return of the stranded Bangladeshis. He also gave instructions to ensure the safety of all the expatriate Bangladeshis staying there who do not wish to return to the country. A notification was issued to enroll Bangladeshis who wish to return from the embassy and initially about a thousand migrant workers are said to be willing to return home.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday asked the Bangladeshi expatriates to strictly abide by the laws of the host countries and send remittances through legal channels. “It won’t be tolerated anymore if any person commits offenses (in host country) and thus tarnishes the country's image,” she said while addressing a civic reception accorded to her at Bangladesh MHM School here in Doha. The premier said her government has taken Bangladesh to a dignified position through round-the-clock hard work over the years and the image is being damaged due to criminal activities by a few people in foreign lands, which hampers the scope for sending more Bangladeshis abroad for overseas job. Also Read: Set up special desks at airports to receive dead bodies of Bangladeshi expatriate workers:  NHRC Chairman “Bangladeshi expatriates must follow the existing laws and rules of the countries where they are staying…. I have made it clear that we will not try to save those who will be engaged in criminal activities,” she said. PM Hasina also asked the overseas job seekers to use the legal channels. “We have lost the scope of sending more people abroad,” she added. She said if any Bangladeshi expatriate commits crime abroad the government will not shoulder its responsibility. About remittance, the PM said, “Send remittances through the legal channels. We are providing 2.5 percent incentive (for sending remittance through banking channels).”  

Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad on Thursday said that more than five lakh Bangladeshi expatriate workers returned to the country after losing their jobs since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. The minister said this while replying to a question from ruling Awami League MP from Faridpur Manzur Hossain. Imran said that 5.4 lakh migrant workers have got employment  abroad till May 2022 due to various diplomatic initiatives of the present government. In response to a question from AL MP  from Chattogram Didarul Alam, the minister said that a total of 10.50 lakh female migrant workers are working in 84 countries of the world according to data until May this year. The minister highlighted the various steps taken by the relevant Bangladesh missions to ensure the safety of female workers abroad. Replying to a question from AL MP from Bhola Ali Azam, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said there was no shortage of food grains in the country. READ: PM in JS: Measures taken to make next parliamentary polls more acceptable Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in reply to a question from AL MP from Jamalpur Abul Kalam Azad, told the House that the government has identified and took actions against those responsible for trying to make people stand against the government by creating a volatile environment in the market by stockpiling soybean oil recently. The minister also said the market monitoring team led by the Ministry of Commerce and the National Consumer Rights Protection Department has already fined those responsible for creating a volatile environment in the market.  “Fines have been realized from the errant businesses through operating mobile courts run by the district and upazila administrations. In addition, regular cases are being filed against those responsible,” the commerce minister said.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has urged expatriates living in the US to contribute more to Bangladesh's development. "Your support and contribution will help Bangladesh realise its untapped potential – namely, draw foreign investment, project a positive image and protect interests of the country internationally," he said. READ: BGMEA wants to increase RMG exports to Canada, promote positive image The BGMEA chief made the call while addressing the conference "New World New Hope: United Nations and Bangladesh" organised by the Centre for Non Resident Bangladeshis in New York recently on the sidelines of the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations, the apex body of the country's apparel industry said Saturday. Bangladeshis living abroad, especially the NRBs holding influential positions in their countries of residence, including the US, can play an important role in promoting the interests of Bangladesh at policy-making levels, Faruque said. READ: BGMEA chief invites Canadian businessmen to invest in Bangladesh He also urged the Bangladeshi community in the US to give preference to "Made in Bangladesh" garments during their shopping and also present them as gifts to their foreign friends.  "It will not only pave the way for Bangladesh to increase its apparel export to the US market but also help promote 'Made in Bangladesh' brand among the US citizens," he added.

Left jobless due to corona pandemic last year a helpless Nurul Azim Babu returned from Dubai to his home in Chottagram, his future dark and gloomy. The money he had saved from his six-year job as a driver exhausted soon forcing a desperate Babu to look for a new job or start a small business in Bangladesh. Read: No good news yet from Italy: FM about expats' return The job proved elusive and no business was coming his way as the father of three children had no capital. At this point Babu received a good news. The government announced a Tk. 700 crore package of incentives for the Bangladeshi expatriates like him who had to return home after losing jobs abroad due to Covid-19. As advised by a friend he went to the state-owned Prabashi Kallyan Bank and applied for a loan Tk 3 lakh. It did not take long for the helpless man to realize getting the loan was not going to be a cakewalk. “The first thing the bank asked me to do is to prove that I have an at least one-year-old running business in Bangladesh.” “Since I had no such business and no one to help me in this regard I did not qualify for the loan.” Haunted by his job loss and subsequent harassment at home a frustrated Babu wondered if the government offer has been “a kind of deception.” This is not only Babu’s tale. A good number of an estimated five lakh Bangladeshi returnee expatriates have echoed his frustration in interviews with this UNB correspondent. Read: Bahrain urged to take back Bangladeshi expats Consider the case of Sohag Hawlader, who returned from Lebanon after being fired from his work with his employer citing coronavirus woes. He said, "If an ordinary expatriate like me goes for a loan from PKB, they ask to submit trade license and signature of a businessman, signature of another government official as guarantee."   Sohag, who has his wife and a child continued: "They (PKB) are posting advertisement on Facebook and YouTube: it is very easy to get loan from the bank. There should have a limit to harassment. “My request to all expatriates is not to take a loan from them as they are insulting us,” said an angry Shohag. The PKB management strongly refutes the allegations. Zahidul Haq, managing director of  PKB told UNB that they are successfully disbursing their loan to the returnee migrants who wanted to start their new business or project in Bangladesh. “The Bank is trying its best to help the migrants in financing their businesses,” he said. He countered that many expatriates have understood the package as one-time charity, not a loan. "People want to take money from the bank as incentives, but not as loan. Those who are complaining don’t want to follow the procedure needed to get loan. We only sanction loan to the people who can really show a plan of business as our aim is to reintegrate them," he said. He mentioned that the bank has already disbursed almost TK250 crore to the 13000 migrants in last 11 months. The bank is still following up the applications who have failed to take the loan as “we will get another amount of TK390 crore from the government,” he said. Last year the government announced a Taka 700 crore fund for rehabilitation and re-employment of the jobless overseas workers. Read: 28,849 Bangladeshi expats to return home: FM It came as many Bangladeshis to the country after Covid-19-induced loss of overseas employment. The PKB says it has disbursed Tk250 crore to almost 13000 returnees until June 21 this year, covering only 2% of the returnee migrants. Yet there are outpouring of allegations from the affected expatriates. Tanjil Islam, a returnee, said, "I went to the Cox's Bazar branch of PKB six times, but did not get any loan.” “They (bank officials) came to my home and demanded money. I didn't pay and so they submitted the bad report about me." Another returnee from Saudi Arabia Muneer Islam said that the expatriate welfare and loan distribution is just a propaganda. They are charging the same interest rate like other commercial banks.” Is it an example on how a good government initiative fails to reach the intended beneficiaries. The government has created a low interest loan facility of Tk500 crore, while a Tk200 crore fund from the Wage Earners' Welfare Board was also formed. Loans for the returnee migrants are being distributed through the PKB. The PKB is giving Tk1-5 lakh loans at 4% interest to returnee migrants. Those who receive the reintegration loans will enjoy a grace period ranging from one month to one year before they start to repay the loans. A returnee can take a maximum of Tk2 lakh as loan without any collateral. According to a rapid study conducted by the Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Programme (Okup) last year, around 80 per cent of the returnee migrant workers want to be reintegrated in Bangladesh. But apparently the number of loan receivers is still very poor. A survey by Brac Migration Programme has found that 47.23 per cent of 417 returnee migrants do not have any source of income now. The report says 52.77 per cent of the 417 respondents to the survey have somehow managed work. Of them, 24.19 per cent are working in agriculture, 22.33 per cent as day labourers, 35.35 per cent in small businesses and 17.67 per cent are working in other jobs. The survey was conducted in March-April to explore and analyse the socio-economic and psycho-social situation of returnee migrants after one year of their return home during the pandemic. In a similar survey conducted around the same time last year, Brac found 87 per cent of 558 returnee migrants did not have income opportunities, said Brac Migration Programme Head Shariful Hasan. Also, 28 per cent respondents said they have debts now. Of them, 61.95 per cent borrowed money after returning home, and 25.05 per cent had debts previously. Rights groups suggest the government increase budgetary allocation for the expatriates' welfare. They call for their inclusion into the government programmes and policies in response to the shock of the pandemic. Mentioning migrant workers' immense contribution to the country's economy, RMMRU Executive Director Prof CR Abrar said, "Many migrants have come back under very dire circumstances, and they have not been able to make ends meet.”      

The government has decided to discourage expatriate Bangladeshis from returning home during lockdown, unless facing an emergency.   Bangladesh Missions abroad are being engaged to disseminate the message among expat communities in various countries.   To convey the message to expatriates, support from the social media platforms, Bangladesh Missions’ websites and community leaders will be taken. However, the expatriates will be able to return to home from abroad in case there is any emergency need with a condition of mandatory 14-day institutional quarantine.  Also read: Biman to run special flights to 5 countries from Apr 17 Each of the returnees will have to show Covid-19 negative certificate which is a must and the Bangladesh Missions abroad will prepare the list of those who need to come to Bangladesh on an emergency need. The Armed Forces Division will take adequate preparations for institutional quarantine facilities in Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet. The decisions were taken at a virtual inter-ministerial meeting held on Thursday chaired by Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen. Health Minister, Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam and senior officials of the ministries concerned attended.  The government has decided to allow airlines including Biman Bangladesh Airlines to operate special flights to five countries - Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore from April 17 in an effort to help stranded Bangladeshi expatriate workers can join their workplaces. Also read: Bangladesh to operate special flights to carry overseas workers Among the expatriate Bangladeshi workers who want to go to these five countries having BMET clearance issued by the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, they will be given priority in going abroad. However, in the case of these countries, those who have a visit visa, but do not have BMET clearance, will not get priority in going abroad. Bangladeshis who will go to the UAE for work with a visit visa can get a BMET clearance. During the lockdown, those who wish to travel to countries other than the five mentioned countries in case of emergency will be able to travel on special flights as transit-passengers subject to clearance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The government has decided to operate special flights of national flag-carrier Biman to five countries, including four in the Middle East with high concentration of Bangladeshi expat workers from April 17. As disclosed by Tahera Khandaker, deputy general manager (public relations) of Biman on Thursday,  these special flights can be availed to fly to three cities in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah), two of the United Arab Emirates (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Oman's Muscat, and Qatar's Doha in the ME, as well as the city-state Singapore. "The passengers who have made reservations for scheduled flights, set to operate after 6am Saturday, are requested to be at the airport with Covid-19 negative certificates six hours before the departure time," she said. Also read: Bangladesh to operate special flights to carry overseas workers The government suspended the operation of all domestic and international passenger flights to restrict the spread of Covid-19 in the country for the duration of the 'all-out lockdown' that came into effect on April 14. However, the special flight services will allow overseas workers currently stuck in Bangladesh for whatever reason to return to their places of work amid the suspension of regular flights. "Special flights will be arranged for the overseas workers who have got stuck in the country following the government's strict lockdown. Bangladeshis who work in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Singapore can leave the country under the special arrangements," Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad told UNB on Wednesday. Also read: CAAB to suspend international flights from Apr 14 "The five countries are still open for Bangladesh as there is no problem in those countries," he said. The minister also said, "The recruiting agencies concerned are responsible for bringing the overseas workers with Covid-19 negative certificates to the airport and they'll have to follow health guidelines as well." Answering a query about how many workers have got stuck, the minister said: "It's difficult to say about the exact number but it might be 25000-30,000 as the recruiting agencies claim." Read Over 200 protest flight cancellation at Dhaka airport

The government has decided to operate special flights to five countries for carrying Bangladeshi overseas workers amid the lockdown imposed on Wednesday to stem the spread of Coronavirus. “Special flights will be arranged for the overseas workers who have got stuck in the country following the government’s strict lockdown. Bangladeshi workers who work in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Singapore can leave the country under the special arrangements,” Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad told UNB on Wednesday. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) will formulate a work plan in this regard, Imran Ahmad said. Replying to a question when the special flight operation will begin, the minister said, “It can be said that the decision is almost final as we held two meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. There’ll be another meeting on Thursday where the process of operating flights will be finalised.” Also read: Bangladesh put under complete lockdown amid Covid spike The five countries are still open for Bangladesh as there is no problem in those countries, he said.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has said the expatriate Bangladeshis living abroad will receive necessary services more easily and Bangladesh Missions abroad will ensure better services for the expatriates. He said the representative of the Bangladesh government in the Missions abroad will more effectively and efficiently represent Bangladesh through the scheme of identical website. The Foreign Secretary on Tuesday inaugurated a two-day training session on management and maintenance of the identical websites for 78 Bangladesh Mission. The training session was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the a2i of the ICT Division. Also read: FM seeks cooperation from diplomats in bringing back Bangabandhu's killers Secretary (West) and Secretary (East) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Joint Project Director of a2i and the trainees from the Bangladesh Mission attended the inaugural ceremony. The Foreign Secretary mentioned that with the development of identical websites, integrity and immutability of data and services would be ensured. He instructed the concerned officials that the interface of the websites need to be user-friendly and must have a feature of evolution. Also read: Foreign Minister asked to place a report on stranded expats    A real-time feedback loop would help the websites evolve through time because there would be constant interaction between potential users and site developers. He thanked the trainers and trainees for their consistent efforts. Joint Project Director of a2i highlighted the achievements and works of a2i in recent times. He mentioned that our national portal was named by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed in 2015 that all government websites ought to be identical and uniform, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. Since then, a2i has been working relentlessly to implement the directives of the Prime Minister. The first day of the training session successfully concluded with the participation of more than two hundred representatives from the Bangladesh Missions abroad.  

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Md Golam Sarwar on Saturday said they have taken a number of initiatives with digital platforms like “Chakrir Khoj” to help migrant workers get rid of any middlemen or agents making the entire process transparent and getting jobs without any hassle. “There’ll be no scope of fraudulence or getting cheated (by agents). We’ll remain careful always so that no one gets cheated,” he said while exchanging views with the members of Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) virtually. Deputy High Commissioner Mohammad Khorshed A Khastagir and officials from various wings of the High Commission also spoke at the programme. The Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur recently launched the job portal “Chakrir Khoj” at a virtual event. Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad, MP attended it as the chief guest while State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, MP was the special guest.