The manpower export plummeted 30 per cent during the month of March as the ongoing war in the middle-east countries squeezed the movement of job-seekers in the Gulf counties, said leading manpower exporters of Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA)
Bangladesh exported a total of 43,776 workers to different countries during the month of March, 2026 as compared to 62,436 workers, according to the data of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia retained the top destination of with 24,476 workers, followed by Singapore with 5539 workers, Qatar with 3969 workers, Maldives with 1756 workers, Kuwait with 1526 workers, Jordan with 987 workers, UAE with 902 workers, Iraq with 621 workers, Cambodia with 607 workers, and Italy with 454
However, the war in the middle-east is likely to hurt manpower export in the coming days provided this war spreads and continue, said a leading manpower exporter of Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA)
Until April 1, 2026, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh cancelled a total of 894 flights to and from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) over the past 33 days, following widespread airspace closures in the Middle East triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), 18 flights were cancelled April 1 alone.
These included two Kuwait Airways flights, four Air Arabia flights to Sharjah, two Gulf Air flights to Bahrain, four Qatar Airways flights, two Emirates flights, and four Jazeera Airways flights to Kuwait, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh said in a release yesterday.
The cancellations began with 23 flights on February 28, rising to 40 on March 1 and 46 on March 2, with varying numbers reported daily throughout March.
Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) sources said Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan temporarily closed their airspace from February 28 amid security concerns, directly impacting operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).
According to CAAB data, flight cancellations began with 23 on February 28 and continued in varying numbers through March, reflecting the prolonged disruption caused by the Middle East crisis.
Officials said the situation has significantly disrupted passenger movement, particularly affecting Bangladeshi expatriates travelling to and from Middle Eastern destinations.
They added that flight operations are expected to normalise once the regional security situation improves and airspace restrictions are lifted.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s labour export dropped by over 36% in February compared to January, with a year-on-year decline of around 16%, according to data from the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET).
According to sector insiders, overseas employment declined as recruitment in Saudi Arabia, the top destination for Bangladeshi workers, dropped by more than 42% in February from January due to the mandatory attestation from the Bangladesh embassy for single visa holders, which has been strictly enforced since late January.
The decline highlights Bangladesh’s over-reliance on Saudi Arabia, as opportunities in other destinations are diminishing, labor recruiters said, warning a bleak outlook if Bangladesh fails to reopen labour markets in Oman, the UAE, Malaysia, and Bahrain.
According to BMET data, Bangladesh sent 62,436 workers abroad in February, while the figure was 97,862 in January. Saudi Arabia recruited the highest number of these workers, with 44,258 in February, down from 76,618 in January.
In contrast, 44,083 Bangladeshi workers went abroad in February 2024.
“The mandatory attestation in Riyadh’s Bangladesh embassy for single-visa holders has slowed the process recently, which is one of the reasons behind the decline in Saudi-bound workers,” Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, former secretary-general of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) told the Business Standard (TBS).
“The attestment is totally unnecessary. They [Bangladesh embassy] do not take any responsibility if a worker faces any issues at the destination. All issues must be borne by the agencies,” he added.
Baira members staged a protest at BMET on Wednesday (5 March), demanding, among other things, the removal of embassy attestation and the option for manual submission of immigration card applications.
Later, they met with the BMET director general, where it was decided that BMET clearance for single visas to Saudi Arabia issued up to 28 February would proceed without requiring attestation from the embassy, as before.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have discussed expanding manpower export and recognising Bangladeshi skills to strengthen bilateral labour cooperation during a meeting held in Geneva.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury held the talks with Saudi Vice-Minister for International Affairs Dr Tariq bin Abdul Aziz on the sidelines of the 356th Governing Body session of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said an official handout here on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the Bangladesh minister urged Saudi Arabia to increase recruitment of workers from Bangladesh and recognise skills acquired locally.
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Labour, Employment and Education Mahdi Amin, Labour Secretary Md Abdur Rahman Tarafder and Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to Geneva Ambassador Nahida Sobhan were present in the meeting.
The minister conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to the Saudi leadership and thanked the Kingdom for ensuring the safety of Bangladeshi workers amid the recent Middle East situation.
The Saudi side expressed willingness to recruit more skilled workers from Bangladesh, recognising their contribution to the country’s development.
Both sides emphasised strengthening cooperation in skills development, including upgrading technical training centres and expanding Arabic language training for prospective migrant workers.
The Saudi vice minister invited the Bangladeshi minister to visit Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed commitment to deepening bilateral labour cooperation.
The United States hit hundreds of targets across Iran, and Israel expanded its bombing to Lebanon as President Donald Trump vowed to avenge the first US deaths in the war he launched to topple Tehran’s ruling clerics.
Iranian forces fired missiles and drones across the Middle East, killing people in Israel and the United Arab Emirates, in retaliation for the conflict that began Saturday with the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The US military expanded targets across Iran on Sunday and said it destroyed the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite unit tasked with preserving the theocracy in place since 1979.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh voiced deep concern over the safety of its nationals in Iran following recent attacks, urging all parties to exercise maximum restraint and return to diplomacy to ensure regional peace and stability.
Bangladesh warned that any continuation of hostilities would further endanger regional peace, stability and the wellbeing of civilian populations.
Meanwhile, the manpower export to different overseas countries posted 21 percent negative growth in the month of January compared to the export of December, according to the data of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET)
According to country clearance statistics from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), a total of 94,189 workers went abroad in January, down from 119,389 in December 2025. The month-on-month decline of 25,200 workers represents a fall of about 21.1 percent.
Officials and sector insiders said December’s figure was inflated by year-end processing of pending applications, while January reflected a more typical trend. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh sent an average of 60,000 to 70,000 workers abroad each month, a number that has recently risen to around 100,000.
Saudi Arabia remained the top destination in both months, though numbers declined significantly. In December, 83,876 workers went to Saudi Arabia, falling to 64,567 in January. Labour recruiters noted that low-skilled workers continue to dominate Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern routes.
Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, former secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, said: “The payment structure is still between Tk25,000 and Tk30,000. Most Bangladeshis are employed as cleaners, construction workers, and housemaids. The government has yet to renegotiate salaries with destination countries to ensure better earnings for our workers.
Author is a senior Journalist.
