Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's five-day official visit to the Kingdom recently raised many Bangladeshi expatriates' hopes. Bangladeshi nationals living in the Kingdom are jubilant after the visit as they say some of their problems have been solved and that they have been assured that their other problems will also soon be dealt with. Delowar Hossain Akona, sales executive, thanked the prime minister for “solving the problems faced by us for the last two years in Saudi Arabia.” “The Saudi government has decided to allow the transfer of iqama of Bangladeshi expats, which Sheikh Hasina disclosed while addressing a meeting organized by the Bangladeshi Consulate here. This move will provide better opportunities and jobs for us,” said Akona. Sheikh Hasina informed Bangladeshis here that she had sought accommodation in Makkah and Madina for Bangladeshi Haj pilgrims. She also said she would look into the issue of education of the expatriate children, and that the government would take initiatives to establish a school in Makkah and one in Madina. Mumtaz Hossain Chowdhury, who works in Jeddah, said: “Our children over the age of 18 cannot remain under their parent's sponsorship here. We request the prime minister to take up this issue with the Saudi authorities.” During the visit, Sheikh Hasina met with King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The two leaders hoped that “the existing friendly relations between the two countries will strengthen in the days to come.” Chowdhury thanked Sheikh Hasina for visiting the Kingdom and for what he describes as ‘forging stronger ties with Saudi Arabia and solving the Bangladeshi community's problems in the Kingdom.' In 2007, around 30 percent of Bangladesh's total remittance of $6.56 billion by overseas workers came from the Kingdom. In 2008, a similar percentage of the total $9 billion remittance was contributed by Bangladeshi expats here, which is a major contribution towards the country's economy. Sheikh Hasina has announced the establishment of an ‘Expatriate Welfare Bank'. Moazzem Hossain Anowar, a Bangladeshi expat, said that the establishment of such a bank would be of great help to expats, “whose hard-earned money keeps the country's economy vibrant.” Sheikh Hasina also said that the government is considering introducing an online money transaction system in order to ease the process of transmitting foreign exchange to Bangladesh. The prime minister also assured expats that they will have the right to vote. She said the government will extend assistance to the election commission to ensure that overseas voting rights. However, A.T.K Loodi, general manager, Al-Abeer, said that though he is pleased with the prime minister's visit, the fulfillment of the promises made by her is yet to be seen. “Sheikh Hasina has made many promises, such as, the establishment of an expat welfare bank, overseas voting rights, schools in Makkah and Madina, modernization of the Bangladesh Biman, allotment of cargo aircraft to expedite the import and export of goods, and a solution to the problem of Bangladeshi children above the age of 18. These are our needs and expectations. We are very thankful to our prime minister for thinking about us, but now is the time for some action,” Loodi said.
