Indians annually remit Tk 320b from Bangladesh

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority executive chairman Kazi Md Aminul Islam addresses a roundtable at Policy Research Institute in the capital on 20 January 2018. Photo: Prothom Alo
Bangladesh Investment Development Authority executive chairman Kazi Md Aminul Islam addresses a roundtable at Policy Research Institute in the capital on 20 January 2018. Photo: Prothom Alo

Indian citizens working in Bangladesh remit Tk 320 billion to their home country annually, according to a former Bangladesh ambassador.

President of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) and also former ambassador Farooq Sobhan revealed this at a roundtable organised by Policy Research Institute at its Banani office in the capital on Saturday.

Quoting finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Farooq Sobhan said the amount will be double if the money, which goes out through illegal means, is accurately estimated.

PRI organised the roundtable on the improvement of the business environment in the country.

Discussants said the country's education sector has no relevance to the labour market. Educated persons remain unemployed while persons are hired from abroad to fill the vacancies, they noted.

Farooq Sobhan said steps have to be taken to improve skills at different levels.

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) executive chairman Kazi Md Aminul Islam was chief guest at the discussion, moderated PRI executive director Ahsan H Mansur.

Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) president Nihad Kabir, Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) former president Pervez Alam Chowdhury, World Bank's Dhaka office senior economist Mashrur Reaz, and others, also spoke at the meeting.