“These men are largely responsible for some of the workers' problems in the Kingdom,” the minister said.

Visa trading is an illegal transaction whereby foreign nationals are brought into the country when there is no fixed employment for them. The influx of such jobless workers into the Kingdom affect both the host country and labor-exporting countries.

Moni, who arrived in the capital on Wednesday morning, had a meeting with acting Riyadh Gov. Prince Sattam to apprise him of the welfare measures adopted by the Bangladesh government for the betterment of its migrant workers in the Kingdom.

“While appreciating the contribution made by a majority of the 1.5 million workers in the Kingdom, we also took note of the problems faced by a fraction of the community members,” said Moni. “Migrant workers have become victims of fraudulent activities of middlemen.”

“We want to eradicate the middlemen who fleece the innocent workers who leave their homeland to earn for their families,” the minister said.

State Minister of Home Affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku and Bangladesh Ambassador Mohammed Shahidul Islam also took part in the discussions with the acting governor.

In the morning, Moni and Tuku jointly inaugurated the machine readable passport (MRP) and visa (MRV) programs at the Bangladesh Embassy. A similar program was commissioned at the country's consulate in Jeddah on Tuesday. 

Inaugurating the new system, Moni said that this is being done to streamline the activities of the country's nationals working abroad which would facilitate them to carry out any passport related matters without any hassle.

Urging her countrymen to uphold the image of Bangladesh in the host country, the visiting minister said it is the duty of every expatriate to protect the sanctity of the holy land.

“You should show pay utmost respect to the culture, heritage and traditions of the Kingdom and also  abide by the laws, rules, regulations and customs of the Kingdom,” she told her countrymen gathered at the embassy.

Moni left  for Abuja, Nigeria to attend the 14th Session of the Developing-8 Council of Ministers that begins on Thursday.