The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The opportunities for employment of skilled Bangladeshi workers are opening up in North American and European countries such as Canada, Poland and Russia, according to latest official disclosure.

Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, also in charge of the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment, expressed his happiness at the good news.

He said: "We are pleased, because this is in line with our 9-Point labour-export policy. These numbers for Canada, Poland and Russia are as yet small, but still a new beginning has been made."

According to a Foreign Ministry's release, as of now, 1,156 skilled workers have been pre-selected for recruitment for Poland, two engineers have already been selected and some others' recruitment is expected by BOESL-the official recruiting agency for overseas jobs.

Currently, it said, a high-power delegation is visiting Russia to explore market opening.

So far this year, 365,000 emigration clearances have been issued for overseas employment. At this rate, the number could even reach a million this year, ministry officials hoped.

During the past year, 832,000 workers found employment cleared-an "all-time record", said the release.