Economic Reporter :
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali has said migration is a fundamental driver of development in Bangladesh.
“To reap the benefits of this mobility, we need to ensure the process is safe and orderly and that migrants are supported throughout their journey,” he said.
International Organization of Migration (IOM) has been a good partner to the government of Bangladesh in working towards fairer treatment of migrant workers.
The Foreign Minister said this at an event Wednesday evening hosted by the IOM marking 20 years of partnership and cooperation with the Government of Bangladesh.
Reflected in numbers, the contribution of migration can be seen through remittances, which made up 7.24pc of the country’s’ GDP in 2016-2017, amounting to about US$ 12.79 billion, according to IOM press release issued on Thursday.
During that year, a million people left Bangladesh through regular migration channels looking for their fortunes abroad, 30pc more than the previous year, which again had grown by 30pc.
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, over the past 20 years has worked in Bangladesh towards ensuring better protection and services for all those who are dreaming of migrating abroad or have already done so.
This includes working towards countering human trafficking, supporting the government in strengthening migration governance policies, improve migration prone communities understanding of the risks and benefits of irregular versus safe migration and providing reintegration support to returning migrants who return to the country destitute.
IOM is also running a full-fledged humanitarian assistance project in Cox’s Bazar supporting the Rohingya refugees stranded there.
Over the years of engagement with the Government, IOM has witnessed increasing ownership of migration related issues by its counterparts, be it the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment, Ministry of Home Affairs or the Ministry Foreign Affairs.
This has manifested in the government implementing migrant focused skills development policies, mainstreaming migration into its national development strategies, and supporting regional processes such as the Colombo process.
