Bangladesh to send 900,000 workers abroad

The Bangladeshi caretaker government Sunday said it has set the target of
sending a record number of 900,000 manpower abroad this fiscal year (from
July 2008 to June 2009).

In the last fiscal year (from July 2007 to June 2008), the country sent
832,000 workers mainly to Malaysia and oil-rich Middle Eastern countries,
making record remittance of over 6.6 billion US dollars.

This amount was more than seven percent of the country's GDP, five times the
overseas aid, and ten times the foreign direct investment.

In this fiscal year the remittance is expected to exceed nine billion US
dollars, caretaker government Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, who
is also in charge of the Ministry of Overseas Employment, said Sunday while
briefing Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed.

The export of manpower is Bangladesh's second largest foreign exchange
earning sector after the apparel sector that used to fetch around nine
billion US dollars a year.

Of the targeted 900,000 workforce to be sent this fiscal year, the number of
skilled and semi-skilled would be 400,000.

The foreign adviser said the upgrade of skill is being done by 38 Technical
Training Centres whose programs are now being designed in line with demand.
This fiscal year the Technical Training Centres will produce 49,000
trainees, a record, as compared to last fiscal year's 26,000.

Iftekhar said diplomatic efforts are constantly underway with countries
where the Bangladeshi workers were facing problems, and many of these issues
have been resolved.