Danich Khan Jewel, Senior Correspondent for Saudi Arabia and the Middle East:
The Ambassador of Bangladesh appointed to Saudi Arabia has requested Ali bin Abdur Rahman Al Yusuf, Deputy Minister of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia to provide an opportunity to return to the country as soon as possible for the Bangladeshi migrant workers working in Saudi Arabia who have become illegal for various reasons and have applied to return home. Mohammad Javed Patwari BPM (Bar). He made this request last Thursday (August 3) in a meeting with the Deputy Minister of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At that time, the ambassador said that Bangladeshi migrant workers who have cases of escape from work (hurub) and whose iqama has expired and who have applied to return to the country have to wait for several months to get clearance to return to the country. Most of these immigrants are unemployed and have been in financial crisis for a long time, which becomes very difficult for them abroad. The ambassador requested the Saudi deputy foreign minister to provide an opportunity for these illegal immigrants to return to Bangladesh as soon as possible.
In the meeting, Ambassador Mohammad Javed Patwari told the Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister that many Bangladeshi workers are imprisoned in Saudi Arabia on various charges. As they are the breadwinners of their families, the families of these incarcerated migrants are in dire straits in Bangladesh. The ambassador requested Saudi Arabia to consider a royal amnesty for Bangladeshi migrants who are not incarcerated for serious crimes.
In the meeting, Ambassador Mohammad Javed Patwari said, We thank the Saudi leadership for making Saudi Arabia an attractive destination for foreign workers after liberal and labor-friendly labor policies. There is a trend among people of Bangladesh to work in Saudi Arabia. At present, the number of Bangladeshi workers among migrant workers is the highest in Saudi Arabia. During this time, various issues of migrant workers were discussed. Which has been mentioned in the joint commission meeting organized this year like every year.
The ambassador said, as part of the implementation of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia will welcome skilled manpower, so we are providing training in Bangladesh to make our workers skilled. Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Ali bin Abdur Rahman Al Yusuf commented that Bangladeshi workers are hardworking and they are contributing to the development of the Saudi economy. He informed the ambassador that he listened carefully to the problems of Bangladeshi workers and would take initiatives to solve them immediately.
Ambassador Dr. Mohammad Javed Patwari highlighted the need to appoint a Cultural Attache at the Saudi Embassy in Bangladesh. So that more students from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia can come to Saudi Arabia by verifying their documents quickly. In addition, the ambassador requested the appointment of a cultural attache at the Saudi embassy to speedily verify the documents of skilled and professional immigrants who wish to come to Saudi Arabia.
In the meeting, the ambassador expressed sincere thanks to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman for the employment of 2.8 million Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia.