Bangladesh, EU agree to expand legal migration and skilled employment opportunities
Bangladesh and the European Union (EU) have agreed to work together to ensure legal and regular migration, prevent irregular migration and human trafficking, and expand employment opportunities for skilled Bangladeshi workers in the EU labour market.
A bilateral meeting was held today at the conference room of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment to discuss these issues.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury led the Bangladesh delegation, while Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, led the EU delegation.
At the meeting, the minister said the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, was committed to ensuring regular migration.
He said the government had already taken stringent measures to prevent irregular migration and restore discipline in the migration sector. As part of these measures, the licences of 52 recruiting agencies had already been cancelled.
Ariful said Bangladesh was working as an EU ‘Talent Partner’ in skills development. Bangladesh had requested the European Union to further expand access for skilled workers from Bangladesh to the European labour market, he added.
EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner said the European Union was ready to provide all kinds of assistance to ensure legal migration while combating irregular migration and human trafficking.
He noted that around 500,000 Bangladeshis were currently living legally in various EU countries.
He said that the presence of a stable government and a stable situation in Bangladesh had led to improvements in the situation regarding applications for political asylum, and Bangladesh was being considered a ‘safe country’.
Among others, the meeting was attended by State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Md Nurul Haque; Secretary of the ministry Md Mokhtar Ahmed; Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Dr Md Shakirul Islam Khan; Additional Secretary Md Saiful Islam; BOESL Managing Director Mohammad Rashedul Haque; Joint Secretary Md Shahidul Islam Chowdhury; EU Director Henrik Nielsen; Cabinet Member Grigorios Delavecoras; and Commissioner’s Communications Adviser Lukas Gassner, along with senior officials.
The EU delegation also included EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Michael Miller, Deputy Head of Delegation Baiba Zarina, and First Counsellor and Political Officer Kamila Partiska.
