Dhaka has decided to sign a deal with Doha to facilitate transfer of convicted Bangladeshis living in Qatar and vice versa, officials said.
There are some 0.4 million Bangladeshi nationals living in Qatar, majority of whom are working there in construction and other sectors, while many are doing business.
If the deal is signed, the convicted nationals of Bangladesh and Qatar will get scopes to stay in prisons of their respective countries for the remaining days of their jail-terms, they added.
The deal - "Agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons between the government of Bangladesh and the state of Qatar" - is likely to be signed at the second state minister-level foreign office consultation in Doha this week.
Under the draft law, exchanged between the two nations, the requesting state will bear the expenses relating to transfer of the convicted person, including transit expenses.
On the other hand, expenses incurred in the territory of the sentencing state will be borne by the same state.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, in a recent inter-ministerial meeting, finalised the draft agreement for signing.
An official of the ministry told the FE that every year a good number of Bangladeshi workers go to Qatar for job, many of whom somehow face unwanted situations and land in jails.
Some also get convicted after being involved in unlawful activities and live in prisons for years. Moreover, some become victims of trafficking and later get imprisoned.
If both the countries have an agreement for repatriation of convicted persons, they can be brought back to their respective countries very easily, he added.
However, the official could not provide the number of Bangladeshi nationals presently staying in jails in Qatar.
syful-islam@outlook.com