Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury on Tuesday informed Parliament the government has formulated a five-year strategic plan aimed at creating employment opportunities for educated and skilled young people and reducing unemployment across country.
Responding to a question during the parliamentary session, the minister said the strategy covers the 2026-2030 period and includes short-, medium- and long-term programmes designed to implement the government’s election manifesto.
He said expanding overseas employment opportunities remained an ongoing priority for the government. While the Middle East continues to be the main destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers, political instability in countries such as Iran, Lebanon and Syria has affected labour recruitment in recent years.
To address the challenge, the government is working to strengthen existing labour markets while exploring new destinations for Bangladeshi workers, he added.
The minister also highlighted Bangladesh’s record remittance performance in the 2024-25 fiscal year, during which expatriates sent home $30.32 billion.
He said the inflow had played a crucial role in supporting economic activity and strengthening the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
According to the minister, the United States emerged as the single largest source of remittances, contributing $4.73 billion, or around 15.6 per cent of the total.
Saudi Arabia ranked second with $4.26 billion, followed by the United Arab Emirates with $4.17 billion. Together, the three countries accounted for more than $13.16 billion, representing approximately 43.4 per cent of total remittance earnings.
The Gulf region continued to dominate Bangladesh’s remittance landscape. Six Gulf countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain — contributed a combined $13.66 billion, accounting for about 45 per cent of total remittance inflows.
Among European countries, Italy was the leading source with $1.65 billion, followed by France with $335.59 million, Greece with $185.21 million, Germany with $180.62 million and Portugal with $102.43 million.
Significant remittance inflows also came from emerging labour markets, including South Korea, which contributed $227.04 million, Canada $223.98 million, Australia $177.09 million and Jordan $168.17 million.
The minister said the government would continue efforts to diversify overseas employment destinations and maximise remittance inflows through improved migration management and market expansion.
