Bangladesh Bank governor Ahsan H Mansur expressed hope that expatriate income or remittances will cross $35 billion in the current FY26.
He also said that remittances are playing an important role in stabilizing the country’s macroeconomics and due to this, the balance of payments and current account have returned to a positive trend.
He made these remarks as a special guest at the ‘NRB Global Convention Dhaka-2025’ organized at a hotel in the capital on Tuesday (December 30).
The governor further said that Bangladesh has earned more than $30 billion in remittances for the first time in the just-ended fiscal year. He expressed hope that the flow will increase further in the current fiscal.
“Remittances have helped the country greatly even in difficult times of economic crisis. It has stabilized our balance of payments and helped us return from a current account deficit to a surplus.”
Highlighting the contribution of Bangladeshi expatriates spread across the world, Ahsan H Mansur said that it is important to further strengthen the country’s relationship with the non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) community.
“Instead of relying only on workers working in the Middle East or Malaysia, we need to utilize the skills, experience and networks of established expatriates in various professions.”
He mentioned that many expatriate doctors are providing healthcare in remote areas of the country with their savings, which is an exemplary example.
Regarding returning home after a long stay abroad, the governor said that returning home completely can sometimes be emotional and complicated. However, it is possible to contribute to the development of the country by staying in the country and abroad without returning physically.
Highlighting the wealth potential of expatriates, he said that a large part of the expatriates was from the ‘baby boomer’ generation, who built a successful life abroad and now want to do something for the country.
“If even a small portion of the wealth held by expatriates around the world comes as investment in the country, it can be equal to hundreds of billions of dollars,” he said.
Referring to the various initiatives taken by the government for expatriates, the governor said that despite limited capacity, NRB Bank, CIP facilities, special lounges at airports and the opportunity to exercise voting rights from abroad have been ensured.
He said that the door is always open for investment as well.
“When I returned home in 2008 after leaving a high-ranking job at the IMF, many people asked me – what will the country give me? I said – nothing. The purpose of returning home should be to give, not to take.”
Encouraging expatriates to invest, he said that even if they are not physically in the country, it is possible for expatriates to invest through offshore banking units (OBU), the stock market or government dollar bonds, where there is an opportunity for attractive profits.
