The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEWOE) is a specialized executive branch of the Government of Bangladesh, established on December 20, 2001, to manage, regulate, and facilitate the nation’s massive overseas labor migration sector. Recognizing the critical role of migrant remittances in stabilizing the national economy and alleviating domestic unemployment, the government created the ministry to ensure the welfare, security, and rights of expatriate Bangladeshis worldwide. The MoEWOE is responsible for formulating comprehensive migration policies—such as the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Policy 2016 and the Overseas Employment and Migration Act 2013—which align with international standards to promote orderly, safe, and responsible migration (SDG 10.7). Its core functions include exploring new global labor markets, negotiating Bilateral Labor Agreements (BLAs) and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with destination countries, regulating private recruiting agencies to prevent exploitation, and decentralizing migration services to the district level.
To execute its broad mandate, the MoEWOE operates through several key statutory bodies and affiliated agencies. The Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) serves as its primary executing arm, responsible for providing technical and vocational skills training, managing the national database of aspirant migrants, and issuing emigration clearances. The Wage Earners’ Welfare Board (WEWB) functions as the social protection wing, managing a centralized welfare fund to assist distressed migrants, repatriate remains, and provide financial support to the families of deceased workers. Additionally, the ministry oversees the Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL), a state-owned recruitment agency dedicated to ethical, transparent, and low-cost migration, and the Probashi Kallyan Bank (PKB), a specialized financial institution offering collateral-free migration loans and specialized remittance and rehabilitation services for returnees. Through this institutional architecture, the MoEWOE acts as the central pillar of Bangladesh’s strategy to transform its demographic dividend into a globally competitive and protected expatriate workforce.