Abu Dhabi, March 25: The arrival of Bangladeshi workers in the UAE has dropped from significantly, according to a top official of the Bangladesh Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
Approximately, every month in 2008, 40,000 people had been arriving for job purposes but as a result of the global financial crisis, this number has significantly fallen down to 20,000 per month, Bangladesh ambassador to the UAE, Mohammed Nazmul Quaunine told Khaleej Times.
But still in downturn, the arrival is better than other Asian expatriate communities which live in the UAE, Quaunine said.
He said the labour force arrival in the UAE from across the world, not only from Asia, has reduced. “I am confident that soon, as the situation stabilises, it will pick up again,” he said.
Considering the large numbers of Bangladeshis arriving in the UAE, it was expected that it would be the largest expatriate community in the country in the coming years leaving behind India and Pakistan who at present form the biggest communities here, the envoy said.
Lots of lay-offs were seen in the past one and a half years. “But the good change is that, we are now witnessing a slight growth in the recruitment sector and it is picking up momentum,” he said. “We hope that as soon as the situation stabilises our workforce arrival would go double,” Quaunine said.
Despite recession approximately 800,000 Bangladeshis in the UAE remitted around $1.5 billion to their country in 2009, against $1.3 billion in 2008, and it’s expected to grow further this year, the envoy said.
–Agencies