Bangladesh can earn $45B in remittances in next 5 years: Malaysia

Visiting Malaysian Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan said Bangladesh could earn $45 billion in remittances from Malaysia in the next five years.

While paying a courtesy call on Thursday, he informed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that Malaysia has taken a 5-Year Action Plan for migrant workers and increased the minimum wage to Tk30,436 (RM 1,500).

Bangladesh could greatly benefit from these initiatives with more than 5,00,000 expatriate workers expected to be sent in the Southeast Asian country in the next five years, reads a PMO statement issued on Thursday.

The country received $1.09 billion from expatriate workers in Malaysia last year.

The Malaysian minister who visited Bangladesh to attend the first Joint Working Group meeting, expressed deep concern over the chance of human trafficking, as the implementation of an MoU signed between the two countries on recruitment of workers last December, was delayed.

Welcoming the visiting minister, the Prime Minister expressed assurance of her government to send Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia maintaining all necessary protocols, including vaccinations and other formalities.

The PM also expressed satisfaction in holding the first meeting of the Joint Working Group, hoping that both sides will be able to devise ways to ensure safe, regular, inexpensive and orderly employment of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.