FE Report

Speakers at a conference Wednesday urged the government to involve non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) in funding major development projects.

The government should involve the NRBs in funding the country's significant development projects like the Padma Bridge construction, they observed. Such involvement would lessen the dependence on donors and would also help invest remittances in the productive sector.

They were speaking at the conference on Harnessing Development Potential of Migration: Enhance Formal Channel of Remittance Transfer and Productive Investment of Remittances, jointly organised by the International Network of Alternative Financial Institutions (INAFI) Bangladesh and the Netherlands-based diaspora organisation Bangladesh Support Group (BASUG) at the city's BRAC Centre.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman attended the conference as the chief guest. Masud Ahmed, director general of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), Ghulam Mustafa, president of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), and Syed Mustafa Kamal, country manager of the Western Union, were present as guests of honour.

The conference was aimed at raising mass-awareness about transferring remittance through proper channels and using the fund for betterment of the remittance earners' families as well as the national economy, Atiqun Nabi, executive director of INAFI Asia and Bangladesh, explained.

Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman in his address expressed his support to the BASUG-INAFI initiative.

He said, "Despite being the second largest remittance earning country, the economic development in Bangladesh is not satisfactory yet."

"It is just because the major proportion of our $ 9.7 billion remittance remains unproductive," he added.

Mr. Rahman, however, urged every stakeholder of the manpower export sector to emphasise on workers' skill development in diversified sectors.

"There is still an acute shortage of skilled workers in the areas of shipping and nursing. Concentrate on making our expatriates skilled in such highly potential service-oriented sectors," the BB governor added.

BMET DG Masud Ahmed in his address said family members of the most remittance earners show reluctance to invest in the productive sector out of the sheer fear of insecurity.

"Most remittance earners' families do not even know how to invest their money in a secure way. That we all have to propagate," Mr Ahmed said.

Investing money in a secure way as in government bonds is largely unknown to them due to lack of knowledge. If the problem is addressed properly, there is no way they would deny it, he added.

Being session moderator, journalist and media personality Muhammad Jahangir cited the example of Indian city Kerala, where the earnings of their expatriates were used for development.

"Involvement of non-resident Indians has brought about a revolutionary change in every aspect in a city of our neighboring country. Being one of the largest remittance earning nations, why can't we do so?" he questioned.