The government has selected 57 non-resident Bangladeshis to honour them as the commercially important person (CIP) for their contribution to the economy.

Of them, 47 will be recognised for sending the highest amount of remittance through formal channels, nine for importing Bangladeshi products to foreign countries, and one for making direct investment in the industrial sector in Bangladesh.

Of the CIPs, 37 live in the Middle East, three in the US, two each in the UK, Japan, Italy, Russia, Malaysia and Thailand, and one each in Canada, Australia, Singapore, the Maldives and Cambodia.

The highest number of the NRB-CIPs of 26 came from the UAE and two of them are women. Nine are from Oman.

On November 24, the expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry published the list of the CIPs for 2019 in three categories.

The government is scheduled to hand over the certificates to the CIPs through a programme in Dhaka on December 18, on the occasion of the International Migrants Day.

As the CIPs, the recipients will enjoy various facilities for two years.

The facilities include access to the secretariat, opportunity to become a member of various policy-making committees of the government, priority in meetings with senior local and foreign officials, invitation to programmes organised by Bangladesh's missions abroad to mark national events, and invitation to the national events and citizen receptions organised by the city corporations when they are at home.

The CIPs will also get priority in reserving seats in airways, railways, road and waterways, and get access to the VIP lounges at the airports.

The wife and children of a CIP will get priority in getting cabin booking at government hospitals.

If they invest in Bangladesh, the CIPs will qualify for the facilities extended to foreign investors.