The government has declared December 30 as NRB Day to resolve issues affecting non-resident Bangladeshis and encourage their contributions to the country, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said in London.

‘The main objective of the day is to enhance the engagement of more than one crore expatriate Bangladeshis around the world,’ he said.

‘To that end, including the Bangladesh High Commission in London, the missions have been directed to celebrate the upcoming NRB Day in a grand manner,’ said the foreign minister, adding that ‘expatriates are the biggest contributors to foreign currency of our country.’

‘The country can benefit from increased connectivity with our expatriate professionals who are highly skilled in different fields, working in different countries of the world,’ he also said.

Foreign minister Momen, who was accompanying the prime minister at the Taj Hotel in London on Tuesday afternoon, recalled the sincere efforts of the British Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries regarding NRB Day and said, ‘At the closing ceremony of the historic NRB World Convention in Sylhet in 2017, I myself announced the date to celebrate the day in a private way.’

The minister also suggested the Mayor of Sylhet, Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, to organise a three-day festival on the occasion of NRB Day on December 30 and the mayor agreed to it.

Bangladesh high commissioner Saida Muna Tasneem, mayor of Sylhet City Corporation Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, BBCCI president Saidur Rahman Renu, and former president Shahgir Bakht Faruk were present at the meeting, among others.