December 30 should be declared “Expatriate Day”, says Foreign Minister

File photo of Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.

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File photo of Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said today that he wants December 30 to be declared “Expatriate Day” and celebrated annually in the country.

“With this, it is possible to involve the expatriates more in the development of the country,” he said, adding that the expatriates usually return home around this time.

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He added that his ministry had already approached the prime minister on the matter, and urged the expatriate welfare ministry to take action accordingly.

Momen was addressing the national program marking International Migrants Day – organized by the Expatriate Welfare Ministry – at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the capital.

December 18 is celebrated as International Migrants Day across the world following a proclamation by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000.

At the event, the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare awarded 57 non-resident Bangladeshis the “CIP (NRB) -2019” awards in three categories: “industrial investment” (one person), “sending foreign currency ”(47 people) and“ Importing goods from Bangladesh ”(9 people) – for their outstanding contribution during the fiscal year 2017-2018.

In addition, some children of migrant workers received a scholarship during the program.

Addressing the event as the main guest, the Foreign Minister said they have launched two apps – dutabash and myGov – to improve the quality of services for expats.

The apps allow expatriates to benefit from the required services regarding the renewal of passports and the attestation of various documents using their mobile phones, he said.

He added that the government wanted to redouble its efforts for Bangladeshi expatriates to obtain their National Identity Cards (NIDs) abroad.

Such a project has already been launched in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates but the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed it down, he added.

The foreign minister also said they are trying to reopen the labor market in Libya for Bangladeshi workers given the improving conflict situation there, adding that Bangladesh has stopped sending workers. in Libya in 2015.

Presiding over the event, Expatriate Welfare Minister Imran Ahmad urged expats with Person of Commercial Importance (CIP) status to invest more in the country’s economy.

He said he would make a proposal to the prime minister to get a special economic zone for them.

He also said he would be in Malaysia on Sunday to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Southeast Asian country to reopen the labor market for Bangladeshi workers there.

“It’s a big market,” he said, adding that Bangladeshi migrant workers are enthusiastic about working in Malaysia because its social system favors them.

In his speech, Anisul Islam Mahmud, chairman of the parliamentary committee on the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare, said that migrant workers are the main pillar of the country’s economy as development is largely possible through remittances. they send.

The government has done a lot for them, but there is still a lot to do to ensure their well-being, he said.

Ahmed Munirus Saleheen, Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare; Fathima Nusrath Ghazzali, Officer, International Organization for Migration Bangladesh; and Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director, International Labor Organization, Bangladesh; among others, spoke at the event.

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