"We took various initiatives to put in place an effective border control to ensure that those leaving for a better life abroad do not find themselves in situations of deprivation and exploitation," he said as chief guest at the closing ceremony a workshop.

The daylong workshop titled 'Emerging needs assessment of immigration process: Bangladesh' was organised by Special Branch (SB) of Police in association with International Organisation for Migration (IOM) at a city hotel.

The workshop was part of a project titled 'Enhancing capacity of the immigration officials to combat irregular migration in Bangladesh'.

A draft term of reference for the proposed Border Management Committee has already been developed to establish greater coordination among different border management agencies in the country, said the adviser, adding that the government will also formulate a comprehensive immigration law in this regard.

"The government will consider providing necessary support to form a central functional Border Management Committee, which we believe, will facilitate various border-related authorities to work in a coordinated manner," he said.

Terming human trafficking one of the cruellest forms of irregular migration that affect people and country immensely, he said, "As traffickers look to new ways and sophisticated means of profiting, we will need coordination from all parties."

Chairing the session, secretary to home ministry Abdul Karim said it is obvious that people will migrate from the developing to the developed countries, but that does not mean that they will migrate irregularly.

"Let us train and build capacity of our people so that they can go to the countries like Australia and Japan as skilled workers, but they must not be allured and then seek asylum," he said, urging all to work together to stop irregular migration.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammad said police is committed to punish the criminals engaged in trafficking and irregular migration, but that requires better management of the borders.

"We have 32 check posts. It is therefore important that we connect all the immigration points under a network," he said assuring an all-out support from the police in this process.

Special Superintendent (Immigration) Shah Alam said linking up a network of all the ports and cooperation and coordination among various government agencies are imperative to stop irregular migration.

"The present coordination is operated in a quasi-official manner," he added.

IOM Regional Representative for South Asia Shahidul Haque said border cannot be controlled in the globalised world, but it needs to be better managed so that people who travel with valid documents feel ease and comfort.

Additional IGP of SB Baharul Alam said police needs to be better equipped in line with the increase of migrants. Modernising visa issuing process and introducing machine-readable passports are a necessity for better border management, he noted.

Acting Australian High Commissioner Richard Rodgers said irregular migration and human trafficking worldwide are a matter of serious concern.

This is linked to transnational crimes and security, he said, stressing the need of the governments to prosecute the traffickers and smugglers.