'Saudi Arabia deported 5,500 Bangladeshis this year'

DHAKA, Bangladesh

At least 5,500 Bangladeshi migrant workers have been deported from Saudi Arabia since the start of this year, a non-profit group said.

A fresh batch of 145 workers were deported on Sunday, said Shariful Hasan, head of the BRAC Migration Programme, which provides emergency assistance to the returnees.

Of those returned this year, he said 300 were women workers.

Many of the returnees interviewed said they were not given any specific reason for their deportation, according to a statement from BRAC.

Last year, 25,789 Bangladeshis were deported from Saudi Arabia, it added.

The Saudi Embassy in Dhaka declined to make an immediate comment on the issue when contacted by Anadolu Agency.

Remittances from expat workers remains an important stream of revenue for developing countries like Bangladesh.

In 2019, Bangladeshis working abroad sent home more than $18 billion, of which nearly 20% came from Saudi Arabia, said local news agency United News of Bangladesh (UNB) citing government data.