Editorial
Work culture in foreign missions
Focus should be on result-oriented performance
THE foreign minister's upbraiding of Bangladesh's overseas mission staffs for their poor coordination, which is impacting the job markets there for local manpower, can hardly be gainsaid. If truth be told, a harder look at the Bangladesh foreign missions would reveal lapses in their performance record other than the one the minister has identified. And the lack of coordination among the different sections of the missions is also not the only shortcoming they suffer from, although clearly it is a major one.
However, what is commendable about the foreign minister's talking-to to the diplomats concerned is that she appears to have put her foot down in the matter. Since the earning from the remittance made by the expatriate workers is a major source of the country's foreign exchange reserve, the diplomatic staffs working abroad should put their best efforts to explore new openings for our manpower in the host countries. Their primary responsibility remains, though, to be more focussed on protecting and promoting the interests of the expatriate workers in the host countries.
Though the remittances sent home by the expatriate workers in the last financial year is still robust, there is no room for complacency either. For at the same time, the market for manpower has also dropped drastically by 47 per cent. The negative upshot of this sudden decline will be felt in the future through a decline in the volume of remittance, unless we take necessary efforts to arrest such downward slide. This is under any circumstances an issue of concern that cannot be made light of. To avert this trend, the foreign missions need to work round the clock and develop their capabilities relating to public relation (PR) with the host governments and the potential private organisations abroad. And to succeed in their objective, there is no alternative to the entire mission's working as a single whole.
While stressing the importance of a harmonious work culture in our overseas diplomatic missions, it is also necessary to place trained officials in the manpower importing countries, especially the strategic ones. Needless to say, new curricula tailored to the need of the emerging job markets should be the focus of those trainings. If brought under closer scrutiny, it would be found that other countries excelling in overseas job markets have the edge on us in this particular respect.
In the circumstances, the government will need to have a fresh look at our foreign missions and revitalise them as potential outposts abroad harnessed in the greater service of the nation.
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