Staff Reporter
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in collaboration with the Consortium of
South Asian Think Tanks (COSATT) and Political Dialogue Asia Programme, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
(KAS) organised a Regional Seminar on “Labour Migrants from South Asia: Issues and Concerns” on
Tuesday, April 23, 2024, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Economic Affairs Adviser to the
Honourable Prime Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was present as the Chief
Guest. Khairul Alam, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment,
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was the Special Guest. Ambassador AFM Gousal
Azam Sarker, Chairman, BIISS, Chaired the inaugural session. Major General Md Abu Bakar Siddique
Khan, ndc afwc, psc, G+, Director General of BIISS and Dr. Nishchal N. Pandey, Convener, COSATT
delivered the welcome addresses. Mr. Andreas Klein Director, Regional Programme, Political Dialogue
Asia, KAS, Singapore delivered a Vote of Thanks.
The conference was divided into two working sessions. Working Session One focused on “Labour
Migrants from South Asia: Contemporary Challenges”.This session was chaired by Dr. Tasneem
Siddiqui, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka. Five
presenters: Md. Shariful Hasan, Programme Head, BRAC Migration Programme; Dr. Mallika Joseph,
Senior Fellow, WISCOMP, New Delhi; Mr. Mahesh Raj Bhatta, Research Officer, Centre for South
Asian Studies, Kathmandu; Mr. Shishir Khanal, Member of Parliament, Kathmandu and Col. Nalin
Herath, Act. Director General, Institute of National Security Studies, Colombo participated in the first
session.
The second working session was concentrated on “Addressing Challenges: Regional Cooperation and
Partnerships”. This session was chaired by Megha Sarmah, Programme Manager 2030 Agenda, KAS,
Singapore. The second session also had five presentations from Dr. Benuka Ferdousi, Senior Research
Fellow, BIISS; Mr. Sugeeswara Senadhira, Advisor, The Prime Minister’s Office, Colombo; Mr.
Hernaikh Singh, Deputy Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. Ms.
Anu Maria Joseph, Research Associate, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, Dr. Anasua
Bosu Ray Choudhury, Senior Fellow, Observer Researcher Foundation, Kolkata. Both sessions were
followed by open discussion.
The chief guest, in his speech, spoke about the contribution of labour migrants to the South Asian economy
and highlighted Bangladesh’s enthusiasm for working together with other countries. The other
distinguished speakers noted the emerging challenges of labour migration from South Asia and urged all
actors to work to secure the rights of the migrants.
Senior officials from different ministries, ambassadors, high commissioners, former diplomats, senior civil
and military officials, media, academia, researchers, faculties and students from various universities, and
representatives from international organisations participated in the seminar and enriched it by presenting
their valuable questions, opinions, comments, suggestions, and observations during the open discussion
session.
