MILLIONS of Bangladeshis go abroad every year for work with the hope of financial prosperity and improving the standard of living of their families. Migrant workers continue to contribute significantly to the economy of Bangladesh. By sending back their hard-earned income, migrants play a major role in maintaining foreign exchange reserves and balance of payments. Migration plays a crucial role in the socio-economic development of rural Bangladesh, contributing significantly to poverty alleviation and addressing unemployment challenges.
The main destinations of Bangladeshi workers are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, and Bahrain. Currently, the largest number of Bangladeshis are working in Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich country in the Middle East. Since independence, Saudi Arabia has become the top destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers. From 1973 to 2023, Bangladesh exported a total of 4.756 million migrant workers to Saudi Arabia, which is almost equal to the export of manpower to the labour markets of 34 other countries. Even in 2020, when most of the labour markets were closed due to the pandemic, Saudi Arabia employed 1.61 lakh Bangladeshi workers. Saudi Arabia is undertaking several megaprojects as part of its ‘Vision 2030’ initiative, creating significant employment opportunities in its labour market for migrant-origin countries like Bangladesh. In addition, the country will be hosting the FIFA World Cup 2034. In this context, Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in recruiting more workers from Bangladesh in the future to meet the labour demands of these new projects.
As the largest employer of Bangladeshi workers, Saudi Arabia benefits from their contributions to its economy, while these migrants also play a crucial role in Bangladesh’s economic and national development. Currently, about 3 million Bangladeshis are working in Saudi Arabia, most of whom are engaged in construction, cleaning, manufacturing, domestic work, and other service sectors. In the financial year 2022, remittances from Saudi Arabia were $4.54 billion and $3.77 billion in 2023, but remittances in the immediate past financial year were only $2.74 billion. Recently, Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh, Essa Yousef Essa Al Duhailan, spoke about projects under the ‘Vision 2030’ initiative and expressed their interest in hiring more workers, especially skilled and trained workers, to implement the mega projects.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia announced to create NEOM, a futuristic urban and industrial development in the middle of the desert, which is also a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, aiming to diversify the economy beyond oil. First announced in 2017, the project spans 26,500 square kilometres and features multiple zones, including industrial and logistics hubs. One part of the project is ‘The Line,’ which features hanging pathways, greenery zones, and a stadium and aims to run on 100 per cent renewable energy. Designed to accommodate nearly nine million residents, NEOM has an estimated cost exceeding USD $1 trillion, with funding equally split between Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and private sector contributions. The Saudi government also started implementation of Trojena, a planned mountain resort that will host the Asian Winter Games in 2029.
By initiating work on these mega projects, the Saudi government is set to create substantial job opportunities that could reshape the global employment market in the coming years. The key question, however, is how prepared Bangladesh is to supply skilled workers to meet the demands of this evolving labour market. This article aims to call on relevant government ministries and bureaus to expedite their preparations to seize these opportunities. It is essential for Bangladesh to communicate and demonstrate its readiness to collaborate with Saudi Arabia in implementing the ‘Vision 2030’ initiative and other mega projects. Bangladesh should leverage its abundant human resources and technical expertise in sectors such as construction, agriculture, and education to support Saudi Arabia’s ambitious vision and mega projects. Urgent measures are required to strengthen Bangladesh’s presence in the Saudi labour market, including negotiating memoranda of understanding with relevant Saudi ministries to facilitate a steady flow of labour exports. Additionally, Bangladesh’s private sector and logistics service providers should actively explore trade and business opportunities by pursuing partnerships and agreements with various Saudi implementing companies and institutions. Such proactive engagement will enable Bangladesh to position itself as a strategic partner in Saudi Arabia’s transformative development agenda.
Labour market challenges
IN LIGHT of the above possibilities, it is now necessary to discuss what challenges exist regarding current foreign employment and what kind of preparations need to be made for Bangladesh’s participation in these projects.
Firstly, although Bangladesh has an abundant labour force and many of them gained informal training and skills, they often lack formal skilled ertificates. For instance, many of our workers have developed expertise by working on multi-story construction and infrastructure projects in Singapore and Malaysia, but they do not have any formal certificates. Additionally, there is currently no mechanism to inventory these skilled returnee workers. To facilitate the export of skilled labour for Saudi Arabia’s mega projects, it is crucial to begin creating a comprehensive database of workers, categorising them based on their skills and interests in overseas employment. This effort should commence without delay to ensure effective participation in emerging opportunities.
In addition, several fundamental problems in immigration management have been highlighted in the media. Visa trading is a major problem in Saudi Arabia’s labour market. Our recruiting agencies face this extra cost in their bid to collect visas from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The brokering syndicates that have developed in both countries are thus increasing the cost of manpower export. The high Iqama fee for workers to extend their visas at the end of the year has become another major cause of concern. High Iqama fees, difficulties in renewing visas, and the rising number of migrant workers returning home prematurely are resulting in significant losses for their families and stakeholders involved in Bangladeshi labour migration. Another cause of deep concern is the news of the highest number of deaths of Bangladeshi workers in the Arab country. Although Bangladeshi workers have a reputation for being hard-working and diligent, in many cases they are being neglected and exploited by their employers. Due to the lack of a proper working environment and lack of access to necessary and timely healthcare, minor illnesses or diseases are becoming serious in many cases, and workers are dying.
Saudi Arabia must prioritise and ensure worker safety as part of its efforts to gain global recognition and acclaim for hosting major international events, such as the World Cup and Asian Games. The construction of stadiums and facilities during Qatar’s preparation for the World Cup serves as a cautionary tale, with reports of hundreds of worker deaths tarnishing Qatar’s image and raising serious questions about the organisers’ accountability. Given these controversies, it is imperative for Saudi Arabia to address health and safety concerns for migrant labourers, who will play a pivotal role in executing these mega plans and projects. Proactive measures in this regard are essential to avoid similar criticisms and uphold the dignity and well-being of the workforce.
Simultaneously, the capacity of the Bangladesh Embassy should be increased, and a medical support team should be formed for providing necessary services to ensure necessary healthcare for workers. Initiatives should be taken to meet with the relevant ministries of the Saudi government to reduce and re-determine the Iqama fee. In addition, it is very important to form a legal wing in the embassy to provide legal assistance to expatriate workers who suffer from exploitative employers. Overall, the government should adopt a comprehensive policy on manpower export to capture new employment opportunities in the Saudi labour market. By sending skilled manpower according to demand, remittance income can be earned more even by exporting less manpower. To safeguard national interests, the Bangladesh government should prioritise migrant-friendly diplomacy and foreign policy. This approach would enable Bangladesh to solidify its position as a key player in the global labour market. Moreover, it could significantly boost domestic economic development by enhancing remittance inflows.
Mohammad Rashed Alam Bhuiyan teaches political science at the University of Dhaka. Sehab Uddin is a migration researcher.
