Staff Reporter:
Foreign minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud yesterday said four European Union (EU) countries – Italy, Ger-many, Greece, and Romania – have decided to recruit 3,000 workers from Bangladesh.
He shared the news with journalists after emerging from a farewell meeting with the outgoing EU Am-bassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley at the foreign ministry here.
“The EU Ambassador indicated the potential for employing more Bangladeshi workers in the future de-pending on skills and efficiency of these 3,000 workers,” said the foreign minister.
He said during the meeting, they also discussed about ensuring Bangladesh’s Generalized System of Pref-erences (GSP) or tariff reduction benefits for its products from the EU until 2032, even after Dhaka’s transition from Least Developed Country (LDC) to a middle-income one in 2026.
BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat
About the second retreat of BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers, held in New Delhi, July 11-12, Hasan said he highlighted key discussions on climate change, medical assistance, energy security, and the enhancement of green energy usage through hydropower production in Nepal and Bhutan.
The foreign minister noted that the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit is scheduled for September 4 in Thai-land, where Bangladesh will assume the role of the next chair of BIMSTEC.
Meanwhile in a press release, the foreign ministry said that the primary objective of the Retreat was to engage in open and candid discussions on areas of cooperation within BIMSTEC to find solutions to the regional challenges and to brainstorm new ideas and suggestions for the future direction of the organiza-tion.