Foreign Secretary told UN about contribution of expats development of the country

Noman Sabit: Foreign Secretary Masud bin Momen noted that our expatriates have made a significant contribution to the journey of transitioning from a less developed country to a role model country for the development of war-torn Bangladesh, during the 'Development' organized by the International Organization for Migration as part of the International Migration Dialogue 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters on Thursday (March 30) local time. The Foreign Secretary made this comment while addressing a panel discussion titled 'Empowerment of Expatriates, Migrants and Displaced Persons as Agents'. Foreign Secretary Putting a spotlight on the whole of society approach for the migration management adopted by the Government of Bangladesh, Foreign Secretary Momen shared experience of Bangladesh in engaging diaspora for mobilizing financial flow, especially through remittance. As the consumer of the home country products, the diaspora represent a major export market; they contribute in developing business models and support their country by sending money to the family and businesses they run in Bangladesh, he added. Referring to the greater contribution of skilled diaspora to the economic development both at the host and country of origin, Foreign Secretary recommended the policy makers, development partners to collaborate in ensuring greater inclusion of diaspora in policy debates in their host countries, including on issues of official development assistance. He also urged the development partners to nurture the innovative ideas and business models of the diaspora and invest more in skills development in developing countries, especially in the field of ICT education. Prior to that Ambassador Masud Bin Momen attended the high-level meeting of the Un General Assembly on ‘zero waste’ as a transformative solution in achieving the sustainable development goals and delivered the national statement of Bangladesh. Highlighting the various initiatives of the Government of Bangladesh towards zero-waste including the banning of plastic shopping bags in 2022, Foreign Secretary underscored the importance of education, awareness raising, innovation in business policy and behavioral change in achieving the zero-waste objective enshrined in the 2030 development agenda. BP/SM