Govt negotiates regular migration with European countries: Foreign secretary
The government is negotiating an agreement with Italy, Malta and some other European countries to ensure regular migration, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said today.
"An agreement has already been signed with Greece for the employment of 4,000 Bangladeshis for five years. As a result, we hope that irregular migration rate will go down more rapidly," he said at a workshop on "Migration and Media" organised by International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on Thursday (27 October).
Mentioning that an agreement has been signed with the European Union to bring back the Bangladeshis staying in Europe illegally, he said, "Bangladesh wants regular migration and this agreement is a reflection of that."
Charles Whiteley, ambassador and head of the European Union delegation to Bangladesh; Abdusattor Esoev, chief of mission, IOM Bangladesh; Professor Shahidul Haque, former foreign secretary and senior policy advisor, IOM Bangladesh; and Rezaul Karim Lotus, president of Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh, also spoke at the workshop.
More than 40 journalists covering diplomatic and migration issues participated in the workshop.
IOM Bangladesh organised the workshop under the EU-funded Prottasha project, with the aim of advancing the understanding of migration dynamics in Bangladesh.