A Z M Anas

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), fretting over the slide in manpower exports to the oil-rich Gulf nations, has sought clarification from the government why Bangladesh's major overseas job markets were faltering.

The Washington-based global policy lender has particularly asked the government to explain the reasons behind freezing recruitment of Bangladeshi workers by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for the last couple of years.

In a letter to the Finance Ministry, the IMF noted that it was not clear why the Kuwait government stopped hiring Bangladeshi workers in 2008, although recruitment from the country averaged 40,000 between 2004 and 2006.

Saudi Arabia, which was until recently the top destination of Bangladeshi workers, has also suspended issuing new visas for Bangladeshis since 2006.

The concern comes ahead of the Fund's annual consultation with Bangladesh, which is known as the Article IV Consultation. The consultation is scheduled for October 19-29.

The World Bank, in a major survey, has found that Saudi Arabia remains the most popular destination of Bangladeshi migrants, with 42 per cent potential workers preferring to go to the Arab nation.

The other major destinations include the United Arab Emirates (16 per cent), followed by the UK (10 per cent) and Kuwait (10 per cent).

While new recruitment from Bangladesh has remained suspended, Saudi Arabia is still hosting an estimated 2.0 million Bangladeshi workers. It is also the country's biggest source of remittance, with expatriates sending US$ 2.8 billion in 2009 financial year.

Private recruiting agencies and experts blamed Bangladesh's diplomatic failure for the recent drop in manpower exports to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Mohammad Alim, a migration policy expert, said two of the country's major overseas job markets floundered, due in part to the lack of diplomatic drive.

"We've no data on return migration. The wrong notion about the number of Bangladeshis has prompted the Saudi government to stop hiring Bangladeshi workers," Mr Alim who owns recruiting firm SA Trading said.

It requires vigorous diplomatic campaign to help dispel the misconceptions about the actual number of Bangladeshis living in the Kingdom, he added.

He said the same is true in case of Kuwait, which was once the third largest station for Bangladeshi workers.

"Kuwait hired about 40,000 Bangladeshi workers per year on an average during 2004-2006. Why did Kuwait stop hiring in 2008?" the Fund asked in a questionnaire.

The IMF also requested the government to provide a description of the trends in manpower exports to Saudi Arabia.

The recent trends in the demand for Bangladeshi overseas workers and in the number of people leaving the country for overseas jobs are among a set of questions asked by the IMF.

The IMF also wanted to know the sectors in which most of the country's workers are concentrated.

In Bangladesh, international migration has become an increasingly important avenue for employment and poverty reduction.

More than 6.0 million Bangladeshis are living abroad and remittance flows amounted to around 10 per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) last year.

The World Bank said Bangladesh is now among the top ten remittance-receiving countries globally.

Almost two-thirds of Bangladesh's remittances come from the Middle East, followed by the United States.