Bangladesh PM to seek more Saudi jobs for expats

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaves for Saudi Arabia on Monday to push for more jobs for Bangladeshi expatriate workers in the oil-rich country, foreign ministry officials said.

Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest countries, depends heavily on remittances from expatriate workers, but amid the global downturn many host countries are facing problems with their own slowing economies.

"More jobs for Bangladeshi expatriate workers will be one of the main agenda of talks with the Saudi government," Hasan Mahmud, state minister for foreign affairs, told reporters.

The number of Bangladeshis working abroad fell 38 percent in January-March due to declining demand in big labour markets, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.

Earnings from expatriate remittances were around $8 billion in 2007-08 (July-June) against $6 billion in the previous year.

But analysts fear the inflow of remittances could slow down as the global credit crisis and recession in the developed world put jobs at risk.

Officials said the flow of migrant workers returning home has increased, threatening to cut the vital foreign income for the impoverished South Asian country.

Saudi Arabia, the largest employer for expatriate Bangladeshis, has reduced hiring workers from the impoverished South Asian country since March last year.

Saudi Arabia employs around 2 million of the more than 5.6 million Bangladeshis who work across the world.