Staff Reporter:
Home Adviser Lt. Gen. Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retd) has called upon Italy to take required measures to legalize Bangladeshi nationals.
“The Italy government will take generous initiatives to legalize Bangladeshi nationals staying in Italy,” he hoped in a meeting with Interior Minister of Italy Matteo Piantedosi held at the ministry yesterday.
The Adviser has assured Italian minister of extending cooperation to return illegal Bangladeshi nationals under mutually agreed framework, said a press release of the ministry.
The Home Adviser said Bangladesh looks forward to work on a wide range of issues with Italy, includ-ing irregular migration flow, steps taken to dismantle criminal networks in human trafficking, and ex-ploring ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in the field of security.
In addition, he said, the two countries are poised to sign a declaration establishing the Joint Committee on Promoting Cooperation in Preventing and Combating Transnational Organized Crimes and the pro-posed Agreement on Cooperation in Security Matters.
The initiatives are intended to strengthen our collaboration based on mutual understanding, respect, and shared commitment, he said.
“We are aware that a significant number of Bangladeshi nationals have entered Italy through different channels, and we fully recognize the challenges faces by the Italian government,” he said.
Jahangir continued that many of these individuals began their journey with valid documentation. But sometimes they face exploitation and misinformation, particularly during secondary movements through transit countries.
“We are highly concerned about the matter. It is my firm belief that by shifting our attention to disman-tling the criminal networks facilitating the irregular migration, we can make a significant impact in ad-dressing this issue,” he said.
The Government of Bangladesh remains steadfast in addressing these challenges through a comprehen-sive, multi-pronged strategy, he said, adding that this strategy is underpinned by three core principles- law enforcement, education, and protection of human rights.
The adviser said Bangladesh government has developed a robust legal framework aimed at combating human trafficking.
In line with this, Bangladesh has established the Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) Unit, dedicated to investigating trafficking-related crimes.
The Home Adviser said Special Tribunals have been set up at the Divisional Headquarters to expedite the legal proceedings.
Additionally, Bangladesh is also eager to explore the possibility of entering into a Mutual Legal Assis-tance Treaty, which would further strengthen legal and judicial cooperation between the two countries, he said.
