Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on Monday informed the parliament that a total of 9,370 Bangladeshi expatriates are currently held in prisons across 26 countries.
He also said that the Bangladesh government is maintaining diplomatic relations with other countries through 81 embassies while responding to a question-answer session at the National Parliament on Monday afternoon.
In reply to a question from Independent MP elected from Sylhet-5 Mohammad Huchamuddin Chowdhury, the foreign minister also said that some 5,746 Bangladeshis are detained in prisons in Saudi Arabia while the second highest 508 Bangladeshis are detained in Turkey.
Additionally, 415 Bangladeshis are detained in Qatar, 414 in Greece, 404 in Abu Dhabi, 385 in South Africa, 358 in Myanmar, 219 in Malaysia, 217 in Iraq, 184 in China (Beijing), 122 in Hong Kong, 100 in Jordan, 81 in Italy, 66 in Singapore, 28 in Lebanon, 16 in Brunei, nine in Libya, seven in China (Kunming), six each in South Korea and Egypt, four in Thailand, three in Sri Lanka and one each in Portuga and Algeria.
Between July 2023 and February 2024, 1,226 people were repatriated from Libya, while 51 were repatriated from France and other European countries.
Additionally, approximately 1,950 Bangladeshis were brought back from prisons in India, Myanmar, and various Middle Eastern countries, he said.
In a scripted answer, Hasan Mahmud stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Expatriates Welfare, Bangladeshi embassies abroad, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are active in facilitating the release of detained Bangladeshi expatriates.
Furthermore, liaison is maintained with relevant police stations and Public Prosecution Offices to ensure swift and fair investigations into complaints against detained workers, said the minister.
In response to another question of the ruling party’s MP Nurunnabi Chowdhury, the minister said that the Bangladesh government is maintaining diplomatic relations with other countries through 81 embassies. Initially, the embassies started operating out of rented buildings. Later, the prime minister directed the Ministry of External Affairs to build its own buildings, or purchase ready-made buildings with land, subject to the availability of land for 32 missions.
Currently, Bangladesh has 17 embassies in 14 countries in their own buildings. In addition, there are owned lands in seven countries, added Hasan Mahmud.