- Bangladesh's government plans to send 1,300 taxi and motorcycle drivers to Dubai by the end of 2024.
- The UAE plans to recruit hundreds more drivers in the following years.
- The number of drivers to be hired will increase in subsequent years, with a target of at least 2,000 from next year.
The UAE hosts more than 1.2 million Bangladeshi nationals who live and work there, making it the second-largest base of Bangladeshi workers after Saudi Arabia. Most of them work in the construction, manufacturing, and service sectors, including transportation.
State Minister for Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury and UAE’s ambassador to Dhaka, Abdulla Ali Al-Hamoudi, held discussions on Thursday regarding the employment of drivers, following the minister’s talks with Dubai transportation stakeholders last month.
“One of them was a meeting with Dubai Taxi. As a result of that meeting, Dubai Taxi Corp. has already started recruiting skilled workers,” Chowdhury said.
“The United Arab Emirates will hire 1,300 taxi and motorcycle drivers from Bangladesh this year. Among them, there are 1,000 motorcycle drivers and 300 taxi drivers.”
The number will increase in subsequent years.
“(The UAE) will hire at least 2,000 taxi and motorcycle drivers from next year,” Chowdhury said.
Shariful Hasan, associate director of the Migration Program at BRAC — Bangladesh’s largest development organization — informed Arab News that the new recruitment plan was viewed as a "positive" development.
“There is a good demand for Bangladeshi drivers in the Middle Eastern countries. A significant number of Bangladeshis are already working in Dubai with much goodwill,” he said.
“As we have plenty of skilled drivers, Bangladesh can meet this demand easily … I believe that in the coming days, Bangladeshi drivers will be recruited in more numbers in the Middle Eastern countries.”
Between July 2023 and April 2024, remittances from the UAE to Bangladesh totaled $3.65 billion, marking a 52 percent increase compared to the same period a year earlier. Since 2013, the UAE has exclusively recruited skilled workers from Bangladesh, a strategy that Hasan believes was the right approach.
“Instead of sending 1.3-1.4 million unskilled laborers annually, it’s much better to send 150,000-200,000 skilled workers,” he said.
“These skilled workforces will earn a better salary and build a better image for the country.”
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