ID :
12200
Fri, 07/11/2008 - 12:25
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/12200
The shortlink copeid
Official remittances exceeded $6.5b last year: foreign secy
DHAKA, Bangladesh, July 11 (BSS) - Official remittances to Bangladesh exceeded 6.5 billion US dollar last year, representing about eight percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Speaking as the chief guest at the concluding session of the National Consultation on Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) at BRAC Centre here this afternoon, Foreign Secretary Md Touhid Hossain said it is nearly four times larger than the official development assistance (ODA) Bangladeshreceived last year.
Touhid called for making a strategic roadmap to increase current remittances of US$ 7 billion to US$ 30 billion target by10 years.
"It is achievable provided we take the right measures and synchronize our efforts," he said adding "the recent World Bank report suggests that given its growth rate potentials, Bangladesh could join the ranks of middle-income countries within a decade by 2016." Touhid said as many as 4.55 million Bangladeshi workers are working abroad, including in the Middle East, South East Asia, Europe and North America. "International migration thus presents an enormous potential for development of a country likeBangladesh," he added.
Chaired by Dr C. R. Abrar, coordinator of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Units (RMMRU), the function was also addressed by Dr Hamid Rashid, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ghulam Mostafa, President of the Bangladesh International Recruiting Agency (BAIRA) and Syed Saiful Haque, Chairman of the Welfare Association for the Rights of BangladeshiEmigrants (WARBE).
Referring to the first meeting of the GFMD in Brussels in 2007, Touhid said it marked the start of a new global process designed to enhance the positive impact of migration on development by adopting a more consistent policy approach, identifying new instruments and best practices establishingcooperative links between the various actors involved.
The foreign secretary expressed the hope that the second GFMD in Manila would build on the Brussels Forum, but would also placespecial emphasis on the human face of migration.
He said the theme of the Manila Forum, "protecting and empowering migrants for development" reflects a growing understanding that development benefits of migration are contingent upon the degree to which migrants are protected andempowered, both by the host and the origin countries.
The foreign secretary called for utilizing the second GFMD meeting in Manila for increasing remittances and suggested somepoints for improving the global manpower market.
The daylong consultation was divided into three sessions where issues like 'Migration and Human Rights', 'Migration and Development' and 'Policies and Institutional Coherence' werediscussed.
The Bangladesh chapter of Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), WARBE, RMMRU, Ain-O-Salish Kendra (ASK) and Association for Community Development (ACD) jointly sponsored the consultationmeeting.
Speaking as the chief guest at the concluding session of the National Consultation on Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) at BRAC Centre here this afternoon, Foreign Secretary Md Touhid Hossain said it is nearly four times larger than the official development assistance (ODA) Bangladeshreceived last year.
Touhid called for making a strategic roadmap to increase current remittances of US$ 7 billion to US$ 30 billion target by10 years.
"It is achievable provided we take the right measures and synchronize our efforts," he said adding "the recent World Bank report suggests that given its growth rate potentials, Bangladesh could join the ranks of middle-income countries within a decade by 2016." Touhid said as many as 4.55 million Bangladeshi workers are working abroad, including in the Middle East, South East Asia, Europe and North America. "International migration thus presents an enormous potential for development of a country likeBangladesh," he added.
Chaired by Dr C. R. Abrar, coordinator of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Units (RMMRU), the function was also addressed by Dr Hamid Rashid, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ghulam Mostafa, President of the Bangladesh International Recruiting Agency (BAIRA) and Syed Saiful Haque, Chairman of the Welfare Association for the Rights of BangladeshiEmigrants (WARBE).
Referring to the first meeting of the GFMD in Brussels in 2007, Touhid said it marked the start of a new global process designed to enhance the positive impact of migration on development by adopting a more consistent policy approach, identifying new instruments and best practices establishingcooperative links between the various actors involved.
The foreign secretary expressed the hope that the second GFMD in Manila would build on the Brussels Forum, but would also placespecial emphasis on the human face of migration.
He said the theme of the Manila Forum, "protecting and empowering migrants for development" reflects a growing understanding that development benefits of migration are contingent upon the degree to which migrants are protected andempowered, both by the host and the origin countries.
The foreign secretary called for utilizing the second GFMD meeting in Manila for increasing remittances and suggested somepoints for improving the global manpower market.
The daylong consultation was divided into three sessions where issues like 'Migration and Human Rights', 'Migration and Development' and 'Policies and Institutional Coherence' werediscussed.
The Bangladesh chapter of Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), WARBE, RMMRU, Ain-O-Salish Kendra (ASK) and Association for Community Development (ACD) jointly sponsored the consultationmeeting.
