Besides, the advisers discussed about designing a permanent National Hajj Policy.

Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury is expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with his Korean counterpart on manpower export during the 6th Asian Cooperation Dialogue in Seoul slated for June 4-6.

The agreement will allow sending Bangladeshi workers under a new Employment Permit System (EPS), Syed Fahim Munaim, press secretary to the Chief Adviser (CA), told reporters at the Chief Adviser's Office after the weekly meeting of the advisers.

The EPS will replace the old Industrial Training System and would only involve government-to-government interaction, rather than the private employment agencies handling the workers' migration to South Korea.

Out of the 14 countries included in South Korea's EPS, Bangladesh has been put under Category C with three other countries. There is provision for recruiting 10,000 workers under this category. The three-year contract jobs would be in manufacturing, construction, service sector and agriculture, fisheries and livestock.

The state-run Bangladesh Overseas Employment Services Limited (BOESL) will select both skilled and unskilled labour, who will have to undergo Korean-language training and take part in a Korean Language Proficiency Test, Fahim said.

The MoU will also include various protection measures for the workers, including a standardised expatriates pay-scale.

Some 12,000 Bangladeshi workers are currently working in South Korea.

Meanwhile, the government has tasked the ministries concerned to examine the details of the draft of a permanent Hajj policy, which will substitute the current system of annual hajj arrangements. With a view to improve Bangladeshi pilgrims' annual journey and stay in Mecca, the permanent policy would be designed in the light of the previous mistakes.

The council also discussed in detail previous problems and whether the large government delegation that accompanies the pilgrims is necessary.

Ministries concerned, including civil aviation, finance and health, have been asked to report back to the council within seven to eight days, identifying past problems and future prospects, the press secretary to the CA added.