Four European countries to hire 3,000 Bangladeshi countries: FM Mahmud

EU ambassador hints at future hiring based on skills of these workers

The European Union has announced that four countries – Italy, Germany, Greece, and Romania – will employ 3,000 Bangladeshi workers, according to Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud.

"Based on the skills of these workers, we have also learned about the possibility of hiring more workers in the future from the EU ambassador," he said this after bidding farewell to EU Ambassador Charles Whiteley in Dhaka on Sunday.

The minister said, “We discussed that even after Bangladesh graduates from a least developed country to a middle-income country in 2026, the current benefits, including GSP or tariff reduction for our products from the EU, should continue until 2032.”

The minister attended the 2nd BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat held in New Delhi on Jul 11-12.

“The retreat discussed climate change, medical assistance, energy security, and increasing the use of green energy through hydropower production in Nepal and Bhutan,” he said.

Bangladesh will assume the responsibility as the next chair of BIMSTEC at the BIMSTEC Summit in Thailand on Sept 4, he added.

Speaking about bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the retreat with the foreign ministers of India and Myanmar, he said, “The issue of setting quotas for importing perishable goods for Bangladesh was brought up again during discussions with the Indian foreign minister.”

“We also discussed sending a technical team for the Teesta issue, inclusion in BRICS, and the Joint Consultative Committee.”

Regarding the repatriation of Rohingya refugees, the minister said, “Myanmar’s foreign minister expressed a willingness to start the repatriation, but only after the situation in Rakhine becomes normal.”