Expo 2020 Dubai: A golden opportunity to showcase our inner strength, says Bangladesh’s Minister

Bangladesh is on a path to buck the global trend of widespread economic devastation because of the raging Covid-19 pandemic for the second successive year.

Khaleej Times caught up with Imran Ahmed, who has been Bangladesh's Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment since 2019, during his visit to the UAE for Expo 2020 Dubai, the Arab world’s showpiece event that started on October 1.

Edited excerpts from an exclusive interview:

Over 10 million NRBs are scattered across the globe. How much foreign remittances do Bangladesh get from these NRBs annually?

Data showed that remittances sent by 12 million non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) jumped 36 per cent to $24.77 (Dh90.99) billion in 2020-21 — at a time when lots of expatriates lost jobs and their income declined due the contagion — from $18.2 (Dh66.85) billion in 2019-20. The surge makes for a compelling case study.

Bangladesh’s financial year is from July 1 to June 30.

Surprisingly, the biggest jump in remittances occurred during the pandemic — between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2020.

The economic realities are inextricably linked to the social fabric.

For instance, the family bondage in Bangladesh is much stronger than most parts of the world. A person can even give up his/her life or family welfare.

So, when the pandemic struck, the NRBs started sending more money to support their families, despite the fact that many of them were out of work.

A sense of insecurity and uncertainty unites our people. They feel strongly to support their loved ones and as a result, they remitted more money.

The policy outreach eliminated the relative advantages of remitting money via informal channels.

Many NRBs have stitched from informal to formal banking mechanisms, whose results are all too evident.

No wonder, when most countries reported a decline in remittances, we’ve seen a reverse trend and a spike of 36 per cent.

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The annual remittance figure appears to be proportionally higher than both India and Pakistan. Where do NRBs stand as far as contribution to the economy is concerned?

Over 80 per cent of the remittances are used for family welfare, maintaining day-to-day expenses, weddings, etc. However, a large chunk is also spent in housing – be it building a home or an apartment, etc. Many NRBs invest in saving schemes, Wage Earner’s Development Bond, Deposit Pension Scheme, Defence Savings Certificate, equity market, etc.

However, many NRBs invest in developing businesses, financing businesses, start-ups, as part of their future relocation plan. So, there is productive use of the money that goes into wealth creation and also incurring household expenditures.

A growing number of educated and skilled Bangaldeshis are seeking employment abroad or migrating to other developed nations.

These NRBs remittances are being used as investment instruments and wealth creation.

This trend, which gives a rosy economic outlook, appears here to stay.

Bangladesh unemployment rate for 2020 was 5.30 per cent, a 1.08% per cent increase from 2019. What's the latest figure on this front?

We expect the figure to decline, as economic activities have resumed after the second Covid-19 wave between April and July.

Also, as the borders reopen, they are going to be absorbed in the labour market either at home or abroad.

A recent survey conducted by an autonomous research organisation, Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies (BIDS), revealed that 66 per cent of the students who graduated from the colleges affiliated with the National University are unemployed. This appears to be alarming statistics. How are you trying to overcome this?

I’m not sure if someone has mixed things up. In fact, many youth are working as software engineers, coders and outsourcing partners. They work from home, and they do not have proper employment records. However, data shows that their annual earnings are over $1 (Dh3.67) billion in foreign exchange.

During the lockdown we all remained at home. So, the timing of the survey appears to be a misnomer. We’re creating jobs.

Bangladesh is developing 100 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 39 Hi-Tech Parks, which are attracting massive foreign investments and will absorb the surplus workforce.

They will also absorb those youth who are slated to enter the job market over the next 15-20 years.

More Bangladeshis are tipped to get job offers from countries in the Middle East, the Far East and Europe in the coming months.

— joydeep@khaleejtimes.com