Bangladesh should negotiate with Gulf countries diplomatically, politically, meticulously
The UAE-India block and the KSA-Pakistan block are likely to pose a challenge to the labour market of Bangladesh in the Gulf countries in the coming days as Dhaka should prepare mid- and long-term strategies to tap the labour market , said migration specialists, BAIRA leaders and policy makers.
Bangladesh usually sends unskilled workers to Gulf countries as time has come to send software engineers, electricians, plumbers, masons, carpenters, painters, tilers, mechanics and gardeners with light language training in Arabic and English.
Bangladesh should diplomatically, politically, meticulously negotiate with UAE, India, KSA and Pakistan to retain and explore markets in the coming days, said several Bangladesh diplomats who worked in the middle-east countries.
Former Bangladesh Ambassador to Poland Mahfuzur Rahman while talking to this correspondent said” Bangladesh only has unskilled workers. The unskilled workers market in the Middleeast is saturated with mostly Bangladeshi workers. There is not much competition in that sector. Pakistan or India seldom send unskilled workers abroad.
He also said that BAIRA should have come forward and established training facilities for the workers. The government should strictly impose a condition that the recruitment license will only be issued when the agency will have a skill development unit.
He also mentioned that Instead of overseas employment, the government should create employment opportunities in Bangladesh; and extend generous financial assistance for SMEs and for start-ups.
In addition, the government should pursue Gulf countries to invest in Bangladesh , particularly in the energy sector in view of the global energy crisis.
Meanwhile, the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral strategic cooperation on Friday as Modi visited the UAE amid growing regional and global challenges, according to Xinhua .
The two leaders discussed economic cooperation, regional stability, energy supply security, maritime trade routes, and long-term development, according to the Emirates News Agency.
The visit came during heightened tensions in the Gulf region and ongoing disruptions to global shipping and energy markets. Both sides emphasized the importance of stable supply chains, secure maritime navigation, and resilient economic partnerships.
During the visit, the two sides witnessed the exchange of a series of agreements and memorandums of understanding covering energy, defense, artificial intelligence, finance, and maritime industries.
The USA-Israel imposed war on Iran has hit the overseas employment of Bangladesh creating an uncertainty in the overseas job market, said Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA).
The manpower export during the last three months plummeted sharply with the USA and Iran at loggerhead over ending the war and ensuring peace and stability in the region.
Bangladesh exported a total of 95,092 workers in January, 65,634 workers in February, 44629 workers in March and 43,490 workers in April to overseas countries.
Bangladesh sent a total of 47,995 workers to different counties including 25,021 workers to KSA, 7559 workers to Qatar, 4229 workers to Singapore, 2400 workers to Maldives, 1331 workers to UAE and 693 to Italy.
In view of UAE-India block and KSA-Pakistan block, and rivalry between India and Pakistan, Indians dominance in the KSA and Pakistanis dominance in the UAE are likely to wane that in turn to give Bangladesh a better negotiating space with both KSA and UAE in getting increasing jobs, said a Bangladesh diplomat who worked 10 years in KSA and UAE.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s overseas employment rose sharply in 2025, with manpower exports increasing by 11.27% year-on-year to more than 11.25 lakh workers, with Saudi Arabia retaining the top destination, according to official data.
Figures from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) show that the surge in labour migration has boosted remittance inflows, which reached $29.6 billion in the first 11 months of the year and are projected to touch a record $32 billion for the first time by the end of December.
The 2025 data reflect limited progress in upgrading workforce skills, despite rising global demand for trained and certified labour.
Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, former secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira), urged the authorities to prioritise large-scale upskilling programmes and diversify labour exports towards Europe and other developed markets, warning that without a strategic shift Bangladesh risks remaining trapped in a low-wage migration cycle despite record manpower exports and remittance inflows. Saudi Arabia remained by far the largest destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers in 2025, employing 750,967 workers, accounting for more than two-thirds of total deployment. Qatar followed with 107,397 workers, while Singapore (70,004), Kuwait (42,657), and the Maldives (39,970) rounded out the top five destinations. Other notable destinations included the United Arab Emirates (13,690), Jordan (12,229), Cambodia (12,123), Italy (9,297) and Kyrgyzstan (6,650).
Meanwhile, the military leadership of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia vowed to enhance bilateral defence cooperation and reaffirmed their resolve to further deepen ties between the two countries
“The military leadership reaffirmed their resolve to further deepen the strong brotherly ties and enduring defence partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.”
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long shared a multifaceted relationship rooted in strategic military cooperation, mutual economic interests, and shared Islamic heritage. These ties have encompassed economic assistance and energy supplies, with Riyadh being a significant source of financial aid and oil for Islamabad.
In September, the two countries signed a “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement” in Riyadh, pledging that any attack on either nation would be treated as an act of aggression against both.
The creation of jobs in the local and international markets are in a shambles with growing energy prices shaking the global economic growth including Bangladesh, said a BAIRA leader.
Saudi Arabia remained the top destination in both months, though numbers declined significantly. 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.”
The BNP government is counting millions of taka in the energy subsidies to maintain economic engine of the economy.
However, policy-makers and BAIRA leaders also see a positive scenario out of war in the middle east. The oil-rich countries are most likely to rebuild their infrastructures, damaged in the war requiring thousands of workers. The recontraction works in the Gulf countries can give a boost overseas job markets after the USA-Israel imposed war in the middle -east ends.
Meanwhile , the Iran war will push more than 30 million people back into poverty, with the knock-on effects of the conflict likely to increase food insecurity in the coming months, the United Nations has warned.
Disruption to fuel and fertiliser supplies due to the ongoing blocking of cargo vessels through the Strait of Hormuz has already lowered agricultural productivity and will hit crop yields later this year, the UN’s development chief said on Thursday.
“Even if the war would stop tomorrow, those effects, you already have them, and they will be pushing back more than 30 million people into poverty,” said Alexander De Croo, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
He also warned of other fallouts of the United States-Israeli war on Iran, including energy shortages and falling remittances.
Much of the world’s fertiliser is produced in the Middle East, and one-third of global supplies passes through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran and the US are jostling for control.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently warned that a prolonged crisis in the strait could lead to a global food “catastrophe”.
India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya, and Egypt are among the countries most at risk, according to the FAO.
“Food insecurity will be at its peak level in a few months – and there is not much that you can do about it,” De Croo said.
The knock-on effects of the Iran conflict have already wiped out 0.5 percent to 0.8 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), according to De Croo, who noted, “Things that take decades to build up, it takes eight weeks of war to destroy them.”
De Croo, the former prime minister of Belgium, also warned that the Middle East crisis is straining humanitarian efforts in other parts of the world, with the sector already facing funding cuts.
The US-Israeli attacks on Iran, which began on February 28, have also choked up key humanitarian aid routes, delaying life-saving shipments to some of the world’s worst crises.
“We will have to say to certain people, really sorry, but we can’t help you,” De Croo said. “People who would be surviving on help will not have this, and will be pushed into even greater vulnerability.”
Though India and Pakistan have estimated the number of citizens returned to their respective countries as a fallout of war in the Iran. Bangladesh has not estimated the number of migrants returned home after the war begins , said a BMET official.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India recently stated that over 12.60 lakh passengers have returned to India from West Asia since February 28.
In light of the evolving situation in West Asia, the Government of India remains actively engaged in ensuring preparedness and continuity across key sectors through coordinated response measures.
The MEA said it continues to monitor developments in the Gulf and West Asia region, with focussed efforts on ensuring safety, security and welfare of the Indian community in the region.
The Government is according high priority to the welfare of Indian seafarers in the region.
