Ensure more benefits for expats to increase remittance inflow

Staff Reporter :
Ensuring of more benefits for Bangladeshi expatriates needs to increase inflow of remittance, which is urgently required for the country, experts said.
They said that the government should find out reasons behind the decline in remittance, despite the number of the migrant workers increases in recent times.
Currently, the number of Bangladeshi expatriates is 1.3 crore. Of them, around 70 lakh live in various countries of Middle-East.
Remittance inflow dropped by 7.37 per cent to $1.52 billion in October from $1.64 billion in the same month of the last fiscal year. The amount was the lowest after February 2022 when it was at $1.49 billion.
The decrease in remittance inflow put pressure on the country’s foreign currency reserves significantly.
Currently the gross foreign exchange reserves account to $34.5 billion including $7 billion of the Export Development Fund, $1 billion of a green transformation fund, and a loan given to state-run carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines by government-owned lender Sonali Bank.
But, the net foreign currency reserve is $26.5 billion if the International Monetary Fund (IMF) instructions are followed.
Due to the dollar crisis and the decrease in reserves, the fear is increasing in the country’s economy and the importers are in big trouble as they cannot open letters of credit.
In such a situation, increase in remittance inflow can play a vital role to turn around, the government believes.
As result, it has initiated to increase facilities for the Bangladeshi expatriates
so that they can send money in an easiest and convenient ways. Ahmed Munirus Saleheen, Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment, said that they have conducted a survey in the United Arab Emirates and Italy recently.
Most of them said that the process of sending remittances to the country is difficult and they often choose illegal ways for the convenience of sending money, he said.
“We have identified these things and will take effective action,” he added.
Experts, however, suggested keeping an eye on the crisis so that no person or organisation can take illegal opportunities.
Workers should increase the benefits and emphasis should be placed on sending skilled manpower to abroad, they added.
Migration Researcher Dr Jalal Uddin Shikder said, “It is very difficult to say why remittances are decreasing, but not increasing.”
The government should pay attention to send skilled and semi-skilled workers as per the demand of different countries, he added. He also said the expatriates are more inclined towards hundi as those who deal in hundi are now offering a variety of services.
So, no government initiative will be useful to increase remittances if the workers don’t get ease and simple procedures for it, he added.