Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Md Salim Reza has said authorities in Saudi Arabia have assured that they will take necessary steps to ensure the safety of Bangladeshi female workers in their country.

He came up with the remark while speaking at a press briefing at Probashi Kallyan Bhaban in Dhaka on Monday, reports UNB.

Reza said the third joint technical committee meeting was held between Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry and Saudi Ministry of Labour and Social Development on November 27 in Riyadh.

In the last four years, over 5,000 Bangladeshi women have returned home from Saudi Arabia, bringing allegations of torture against their Saudi employers.

Some 1,500 women have returned home from Saudi Arabia in 2018 alone, according to BRAC Migration Centre.