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Dear Mr. William Gois, Regional Coordinator of Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) and distinguished guests,

Good afternoon and assalamu alaikum.

It is a pleasure to be with you in such a faraway land, half the world away that took me around 30 hours to reach here. I am here to discuss a very important issue which concerns all of us, especially Bangladesh.

There was no dearth of discussions before and after the adoption of the Global Compact on Migration. However, the mere fact that the GCM was adopted by General Assembly is enough to show that all countries consciously negotiated and became party to it because they saw benefit in it. Even the very few countries that abstained at the last moment were actively engaged till the last moment but could not join because of other domestic compulsions. I am sure that when these domestic compulsions will be gone, they would also join the understanding.

Now, since we have got a good contract, by and large for everybody, the sooner we implement it, the earlier we will be able to reap benefit out of it. Bangladesh was at the forefront of any effort or action regarding migration and GCM was no exception. You may recall that from the Foreign Ministry we first wrote to the UN Secretary General about the urgency of such a compact which our Hon’ble Prime Minister further described and reinforced at UN in 2016. We were one of the two facilitators to negotiate the modalities of the International Migration Review Forum. I also have the privilege of sharing with you a good news that the first UN Migration Network has been established in Bangladesh. So you see that Bangladesh is already leading from inception to implementation.

Dear friends,

Bangladesh does not consider migration just as another international issue. We consider migration as an integral path to development both for the host as well as the country of origin. The cities and towns that are built up in the Middle East or the factories and services that are being rendered or innovations in USA, are largely the contributions of the migrant and expatriate workers. The Government of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given highest importance to the process of migration. Of late, Bangladesh has been a source, transit and destination country for migration. So we have taken all necessary preparations so that our citizens and the whole society can be better equipped to take advantage of the global understanding through GCM.

Immediately after adoption we had started having stakeholders’ dialogue with variable geometry approach. Though we have a fairly good database at BMET, we are still working on development of more comprehensive database as per GCM objective 1. As part of SDG Data gap analysis we have also covered the SDG 10.7 and Colombo Process, which is GCM Objective 3. A draft ‘Code of Conduct’ for recruiting agencies is under process as per GCM Objective 6. To combat trafficking, projects under Bali Process to address trafficking has been undertaken according to GCM Objective 10. Welfare and legal support to victims of abuse provided both at home and abroad through NGOs and government safe homes fulfilling GCM Objective 14. CSO advocacy on migrants in government social protection programs is ongoing as per GCM Objective 21 and all of you here are the testimony. Wage-earners Welfare Board of Bangladesh has also adopted the mandate of GCM Objective 21.

Distinguished guests,

Bangladesh is actively participating in regional and sub-regional platforms according to GCM Objective 23. Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with IOM and the International Labour Organization (ILO) organized Regional Consultation on GCM implementation on 4th May 2019. I am happy to say that IOM Bangladesh, PROTTASHA, PROKAS organized another National Consultation on 28th March 2019, in Dhaka. They are working continuously without any degree of recess and they are with us here even today. I have mentioned earlier that Bangladesh United Nations Network for Migration (BDUNNM) was launched in July 2019, the first in the world. The Bangladesh United Nations Network for Migration has developed a review template to identify ongoing-efforts supporting for GCM actions to determine way forward. A concept note on Counter Trafficking has been prepared and submitted to GoB.  A GCM implementation framework in Bangladesh has already been developed and submitted to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment. We are taking measures and plans to mainstream migration in 8th Five Year Plan. A GCM Implementation Framework has been developed and is under the review of the government. We hope that soon we will be able to submit concrete recommendations before the government to adopt through various legal and official processes.

We are celebrating the 100^th birth anniversary of the  Father of the Nation and we have selected skilled migration as a priority as a part of the nationwide celebration. Here I would like to also urge all Member States to recognize the skills and their levels as per decision of the GCM. We also have a dedicated Ministry for the expatriate Bangladeshis and together with Foreign Ministry, they cater to various needs of our expatriates.

Dear friends,

Establishment of safe, orderly and regular migration is a political priority as per our election manifesto. With more than 1.1 million Rohingyas at hand, we understand very well the mayhem if such unsafe, disorderly and irregular movement of people takes place anywhere. On the other hand, we have several hundred thousand foreign nationals working in Bangladesh in various industrial sectors. They are working peacefully and no complain has been heard regarding their stay and work in Bangladesh. Government of Bangladesh is pledge-bound to provide safety and security to every native and foreign citizen in Bangladesh. In that way Bangladesh has also fulfilled one of the most important requirements of GCM.

Distinguished guests,

I again take this opportunity to thank Mr. William Gois for his contribution along with CSOs for Global Commitment on Migration ( CGCM ) and PROKAS and it is once again a pleasure to thank all of you for your kind presence. We are counting on your active support and cooperation for implementation of GCM and taking its benefit to the people.

Joy Bangla.

Joy Bangabandhu.