According to Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) statistics, the number of Bangladeshi workers going to Saudi Arabia for work has been 187,224 this year. This is already a sharp decline from the 551,308 who went last year. In a report in this paper, we highlighted how the job market for foreigners in the country has been shrinking fast. Given that Saudi Arabia has been a major destination for Bangladeshi workers, that it is home to around two million Bangladeshis, and that these workers are sending a considerable sum (Tk 110,247 crore last year) to Bangladesh, it is imperative that the government takes into consideration these new changes and act on them.

According to government officials, the reasons behind this shrinking market include a renewed crackdown on illegal migrants—many of whom overstayed their visas or found themselves in the situation after being promised jobs—and also economic incentives to Saudi companies to hire locals. While policy-wise this is definitely the country's prerogative, Bangladesh must act to secure its interests as well as of its nationals.

Already many Bangladeshis are being sent back home. Many of these people spent considerable sums of money in hopes of a job in the country, and there have been allegations of false promises by Saudi companies and Bangladeshi agents. Protecting their interests through helping them in cases of deportment should be the government's first priority. Bilateral efforts should also be considered with the kingdom to see if any arrangement can be made instead of a sudden deportation of workers.

But additionally, Bangladesh must also focus on diversifying the destination countries for migrant workers, as the entire middle-east job market seems to be shrinking, while at the same time allegations of abuse of workers are on the rise. In this respect, efforts for skills-development for targeted countries should be seriously considered.