The launch of Bangladesh’s special “Prabashi Card” has been postponed to September 15 after organisers were unable to secure Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s schedule, according to a reliable source at the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment. The event had previously been planned for the final week of August. While a new date has been set, the venue has not yet been finalised.

Testing and preparation for distribution have been completed despite the change in the launch schedule. Test printing and the user acceptance test trial were completed successfully, while trials of the card application process are continuing. An unnamed ministry official said the September 15 launch has been included in the expatriates’ welfare minister’s official work schedule.

Technical committee member and focal person Md Mahbubul Islam said authorities want to add more services before distributing the card to a larger number of expatriates. The initiative, linked to an election pledge of the BNP government, will initially offer 11 facilities. Officials plan to distribute cards to 200,000 expatriates in three phases by June next year before expanding coverage gradually.