Switzerland, Bangladesh to hold talks on Wednesday

Switzerland and Bangladesh will hold a bilateral talk on matters regarding migration on Wednesday in Dhaka.

Ambassador Vincenzo Mascioli, director international cooperation, state secretariat for migration, federal department of justice and police of Switzerland will lead the Swiss delegation in the talks, first of its kind between the countries.

The delegation has already arrived in Dhaka, the Swiss embassy said in a statement. They will leave on Sep 12.

“The objective of this meeting is to discuss about bilateral cooperation in the area of migration as well as to exchange views on the regional and multilateral processes related to labour migration.”

Labour migration, particularly to the Gulf region, is crucial for Bangladesh to address the growing needs for employment and job creation.

But migrants sometimes are faced with complex challenges both at home and in their countries of destination.

Switzerland is working with Bangladesh at local, national and global levels to facilitate a “safer migration” experience for the migrant workers, the embassy said.

The Swiss delegation will also travel to Narsingdi district to visit the ‘Return and Reintegration Project of Migrant Workers’ in Bangladesh, which is implemented by BRAC and co-funded by Switzerland and Denmark.

The project aims to make reintegration economically and socially sustainable for returnee migrants, so that they do not feel obliged to re-migrate.

The delegation will also meet with the representatives of the Bangladeshi civil society, diplomatic community and development agencies during their visit to Bangladesh.