BD migration up by 36%

The statistic was disclosed at a seminar entitled “Promoting Good Governance in Migration”, held at the Expatriates Ministry yesterday. The event was organised jointly by Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP), WARBE Development Foundation and BOMSA on the eve of International Migrants Day 2016. The report said that 722,100 Bangladeshis had migrated to different countries around the world in this year. 108,770 of these were women, which amounts to an increase of 9.07%. The report also highlights that the greatest obstacles to migration in Bangladesh are high migration costs, the interference of middlemen, visa trading, and poor arrangements of re-integration. This year, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said to commemorate the day: “On this International Migrants Day, I call on the international community to act on the global compact on safe, regular and orderly migration as an important contribution to building a world of peace, prosperity, dignity and opportunity for all.” Regarding Bangladesh’s growing migrant population, Expatriates Minister Nurul Islam said at a press conference yesterday: “The Bangladesh government is working relentlessly to protect rights and ensure the welfare of the country’s migrant workers. I hope that, by the end of this year, overseas employment from Bangladesh will likely cross 750,000. This would be the highest increase in the last 10 years.” In another report, the Pew Research Center confirmed that Bangladesh is the fifth most cited origin of international migrants, with 7.2 million Bangladeshis living overseas. The other four members of the top five most cited countries of origin are India (15.6 million), Mexico (12.3 million), Russia (10.6 million) and China (9.5 million), said the report. In the report, released ahead of the International Migrants Day on Sunday, the Pew Research Centre said: “Millions of people have migrated from their homes to other countries in recent years. “Some migrants have moved voluntarily, seeking economic opportunities. Others have been forced from their homes by political turmoil, persecution or war and have left their countries to seek asylum elsewhere.” Considering the increasing number of migrants across the globe, the UN General Assembly marked December 18 as International Migrants Day on December 4, 2000.