Staff Reporter:
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam yesterday stressed stronger district-level action to curb illegal migration, protect expatriates from broker syndicates and address climate challenges across vulnerable regions.
Talking to journalists after attending the District Commissioners’ Conference at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka, she said the government has issued specific directives to district administrators to prevent illegal migration and protect migrant workers from falling victim to fraudulent recruiting net-works and human traffickers abroad.
She said district commissioners (DCs) were instructed to play a proactive role in raising public aware-ness and strengthening local monitoring so that aspiring migrant workers are not misled by broker syndi-cates.
Shama said the DCs were also directed to activate vocational training centers across the country to en-hance skills development and create safer and more sustainable overseas employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers.
Replying to a question on regional diplomacy, the state minister said India’s election is its internal mat-ter and bilateral foreign relations between the two neighbors would continue to be guided primarily by Bangladesh’s own foreign policy priorities.
“India’s election is India’s internal issue. Bangladesh’s foreign relations with all countries, including India, will be conducted based on Bangladesh’s national policy and interests,” she said.
