Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday told Parliament that the government has specific plans to explore alternative labour markets abroad in view of recent instability in the Middle East, including Iran.
“Initiatives have been taken to sign bilateral agreements to expand alternative labour markets in different European countries such as Serbia, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Portugal, Brazil and Russia,” he said.
The Leader of the House made the remarks while replying to a starred question from treasury bench member Md Ashraf Uddin (Narsingdi-5) in the Jatiya Sangsad, with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed in the chair.
Noting that high-level visits have been arranged to strengthen bilateral relations with countries recruiting workers outside the Middle East, the Prime Minister said Bangladesh missions abroad have been instructed to explore labour markets and assess profession-based demand for Bangladeshi workers.
He added that local lobbyists and expert firms are being appointed based on recommendations from Bangladesh missions abroad.
Referring to ongoing efforts, Tarique Rahman said initiatives are underway to reopen the Malaysian labour market, while steps have also been taken to sign an agreement with Thailand on worker recruitment to expand opportunities there.
He further said that due to high demand for Bangladeshi workers in Japan, the scope of Japanese language and skills training has been expanded to increase labour migration to the country.
The Prime Minister said Japanese language training is currently being provided at 53 Technical Training Centres (TTCs). He also said steps have been taken to recruit instructors for Japanese, Russian, Arabic, German and Italian languages, adding that 41 instructors have already been appointed.
Replying to another question from treasury bench member Nayab Yusuf Ahmed (Faridpur-3), the prime minister said Bangladesh missions abroad have been instructed to assess opportunities for employing Bangladeshi professionals such as doctors, bankers and engineers in the Middle East, as professionals from other countries are leaving due to war-related situations.
They have also been asked to report on sector-wise labour demand, he added.
Tarique Rahman, also the ruling BNP chairman, said the loan limit for language student visas without collateral has been increased from Tk 300,000 to Tk 1,000,000.
He further said initiatives have been taken to retrain returning migrant workers and equip them with skills aligned with international labour market demand. In addition, recognition and certification of previous education and work experience are being provided, he added.
