Remittances by expatriate Bangladeshis recorded a whopping jump of around 40 percent--almost $22.75 billion in total-- in the last eleven months of the fiscal year 2020-21. In fiscal 2019-20, the country had received $16.23 billion during the same period. 

Last month, in May, it was $2.07 billion-- an increase of almost 52 percent from the $1.36 billion it received the year in the same month. The inflow of record remittance boosted the country’s Forex, taking it to almost $45 billion by May end. 

Even in 2020, when the economies around the world faced the brunt of the global pandemic, the country earned a record $24 billion in remittance, registering an annual growth of over 10 percent. It was one of the only three countries, others being Pakistan and Mexico, to register a growth in remittance in 2020.

Over the next five years, the government has planned to create 5 million new workers, including skilled labor force, revealed a vision document for the 8th-Five-year-Plan presented early this year. This workforce will get jobs in around 20 countries in four different regions across the world.
 
Skill development and training centers would also be established to provide long-term training to potential migrants. The government will also engage authorities from twenty countries to get skill set certifications.

From 2021 to 2025, the Bangladesh government has set a target of $150 billion in remittance. Recently, even amidst the raging pandemic, Bangladesh has allowed international flights to work destinations in gulf countries. It shows the importance the sector gets from the government. 

(SAM)