Fourfold Surge in Migrant Workers to KSA

The Bangladesh Climate and Development Platform (BCDP) has been launched through a collaborative effort involving the government, international financial institutions, donors, and private sectors. This initiative aims to facilitate adaptation and mitigation investments by serving as a project preparation facility.

In November 2023, Bangladesh witnessed a 21% YoY increase in remittance inflow, totaling $1.93 billion, driven by banks offering higher rates for the US dollar. However, this figure represents a 2.42% decline from October's $1.98 billion. Some banks are reportedly offering rates exceeding the authorized Tk 109.75, providing additional incentives.

Bangladesh has achieved a record in foreign employment, sending over 1.2 million workers abroad by November 29, 2023, surpassing the previous year's figure. Notably, there's a shift towards non-traditional destinations like Italy and the UK, in contrast to the conventional Middle East markets.

The central bank has introduced measures to address the reserve crisis by allowing remitters, including Bangladeshi expatriates, domestic entities, and foreign companies, to maintain foreign currency deposits in domestic banks at an interest rate of up to 9%.

The government, with World Bank support, is set to allocate Tk 2.7 billion in incentives for 200,000 returning migrant workers under the 'Recovery and Advancement of Informal Sector Employment (RAISE)' project. Amid the challenges faced by workers who returned during the COVID-19 pandemic, each of the eligible returnees will receive Tk 13,500 from the government by December 2023.

Bangladesh's population census for 2022, released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), reports approximately 50.53 lakh Bangladeshi citizens living abroad, a third of that reported by other government agencies. Of these, 40.61% are from Chattogram, and 28.32% are from Dhaka.