Finance Minister AMA Muhith has stressed labour market expansion in the proposed budget for the FY2015-16.
Presenting the budget proposal at Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday, he said the expansion of overseas market for labour, goods and service was a prerequisite for sustainable development.
“Steps will be taken to send workers to the countries in Southeast Asia, South America and Africa.”
Keeping in mind the Dubai Expo 2020 and the Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup, the minister said the government’s effort would continue to export manpower to these countries as well.
Muhith said the proposed budget also put emphasis on lowering the migration cost, which sometimes increases due to illegal activities of manpower recruiting agencies, adding that a task force is working to prevent such illegal activities.
The minister also mentioned that steps would be taken to export the service of doctors, engineers, accountants and other professionals to obtain preferential treatment in the service sector of developed countries granted under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) services waiver.
Besides, around 500,000 workers will be employed in Malaysia over the next five years to enhance the manpower export to the country on government-to-government basis through private manpower agencies, he said.
He further mentioned in his budget speech that the government had taken steps to deliver machine readable passports (MRPs) to the migrant workers in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Qatar before the prescribed international deadline.
In the proposed budget, Tk438.68 crore has been allocated for the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment for theFY2015-16, which is around Tk57 crore less than the allocation in the outgoing fiscal year.