Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment to establish a loan support system for students pursuing higher education abroad.

The initiative specifically aims to assist students in meeting bank guarantee and financial solvency requirements for countries such as South Korea, Japan, China, and Germany.

State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, Nurul Hoque Nur, announced the directive following a high-level meeting at the Secretariat on Tuesday morning.

Under the Prime Minister’s instruction, students will be eligible for loans of up to BDT 10 lakh, to be disbursed through the ministry’s Probashi Kallyan Bank.

The meeting, presided over by the Prime Minister and attended by Expatriates’ Welfare Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury and other senior officials, also addressed the evolving landscape of the international labor market.

Despite ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Minister Nur expressed optimism, suggesting that post-conflict infrastructure rebuilding could actually increase the demand for Bangladeshi workers.

To improve the competitiveness of the workforce, the Prime Minister emphasized the necessity of proficiency in third languages, noting that language barriers often relegate Bangladeshi workers to low-paying roles.

Additionally, the government is moving to expedite the deployment of 100,000 workers to Japan under an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

On the diplomatic front, the Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Ministry to continue persuading European nations to provide direct consular and visa services within Bangladesh to ease the migration process.

Several countries have already begun offering these services locally following prior government requests.