DHAKA: In the wake of a crisis over the new and old passports, the government will brief Sunday the envoys of the manpower-recruiting countries in Dhaka about Bangladesh’s position on the microdot Machine Readable Passport (MRP) to end the impasse.

“Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni will brief the envoys in Dhaka over the progress on the MRP project,” Jishnu Roy Chowdhury, Director-General at the Foreign Office, told banglanews24.com.bd Friday.

He said the aim of the briefing at the foreign office is to resolve the problem that Bangladeshi jobseekers facing in getting visas with old or manual passports.

Of late, some of the countries, including the United Arab Emirates, are reluctant to issue visas to Bangladeshis holding the old passport instead of the MRP, he said.

Ambassadors from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Malaysia and Libya have been invited to the briefing session.   

Before the meeting with the diplomats, Chowdhury said, the Foreign Minister will sit with the ministries and organisations, including Home Ministry and Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry, the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) and the Department of Immigration and Passports to have an idea on the latest status of MRP and the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) projects.

The UAE immigration authorities ask for MRPs for all jobseekers, according to Foreign Office sources.

When contacted for what he has done from his part, Bangladesh Ambassador to UAE Nazmul Quaunine said he has requested the UAE authorities to issue visas for Bangladeshi passport-holders since it will take time to issue MRP to all the old passport-holders.

“I will sit with the head of Federal Immigration Authority of UAE Monday,” he added.
 
The Ambassador said the immigration office in Abu Dhabi has directed UAE employers to submit MRPs of all Bangladeshi jobseekers. Visas are being issued on the basis of passport copies submitted to the immigration authorities of that country, he added.

Bangladesh launched issuance of MRPs on April 1 this year.

Rafiqul Islam, Deputy-Director (Admin) of Passport Office, said there are around 1.25 crore passport-holders in the country.

Later on April 18, the Home Ministry announced that manual passports would be valid in emergencies for another three years for the expatriate Bangladeshis.

As per an international provision set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the manual passports will be valid up to 2015.

BDST: 1750 HRS. JULY 2, 2010