BSS-13 Dhaka to urge UAE to recruit more Bangladeshi workers

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ZCZC

BSS-13

BANGLADESH-UAE-JC MEETING

Dhaka to urge UAE to recruit more Bangladeshi workers

DHAKA, Jan 21, 2018 (BSS) – Bangladesh is likely to call on UAE to recruit more workers in their 4th Joint Commission meeting due to be held in Abu Dhabi February 5-6 with the main focus on boosting the bilateral relations of the two countries.

“The 4th Joint Commission meeting between Bangladesh and UAE will be held on February 5-6 this year in Abu Dhabi after a recess of over eight years,” an Economic Relations Division (ERD) official told BSS.

The official said State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan will lead the Bangladesh delegation at the Joint Commission meeting while UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs is likely to lead the UAE delegation.

The ERD official said the Joint Commission meeting will mainly aim at boosting the bilateral ties between the two countries besides discussing how to send Bangladeshi workers in a large scale to the gulf country.

Talking to BSS, State for Finance and Planning MA Mannan said the meeting would focus on ways to further strengthen the relations between the two countries in various fields.

“We’ll discuss with UAE how to send more Bangladeshi workers to the UAE market alongside boosting bilateral trade and commerce and wooing more UAE investment in Bangladesh,” he added.

A significant number of Bangladeshis have been working in the UAE and they are contributing immensely to the economies of both the countries. Bangladeshi workforce, both skilled and semi-skilled, is employed in a variety of areas, in electro-mechanical, hospitality sector, construction sector, and driving and municipal services. Many are engaged in business.

The 3rd Joint Commission meeting between the two countries was held in 2009 in Abu Dhabi after a gap of long 18 years when the 2nd Joint Commission meeting was held in Dhaka in 1991. The maiden Joint Commission meeting was held in 1981 in Abu Dhabi.

Another official at the ERD said that apart from focusing on sending more Bangladeshi workers to the lucrative UAE market, emphasis would be given from the Bangladesh side in the next meet to attract more investment in the country’s shipbuilding, tourism and pharmaceuticals sectors.

Besides, the official said support from UAE is likely to be sought to share their knowledge and experience with Bangladesh in setting up hotels and motels here as well as developing tourist personnel and setting up vocational training centers in Bangladesh.

“Besides, UAE is likely to be urged to set up a tourist zone at a suitable place in Bangladesh,” said the official adding that Bangladesh also wants to penetrate in the UAE market with its pharmaceuticals.

The issue of Bangladesh’s participation in the Expo 2020 at Dubai in a big way will also come up for discussion in the meeting.

Bangladesh concluded a General Trade Agreement with the UAE in 1984 and since then, the trade between the two countries has grown steadily. The two-way trade significantly increased and reached nearly $1 billion in recent years.

The principal exports of Bangladesh to the UAE are readymade garments, woven and knitwear, vegetables, frozen fish, jute yarn and twine, home textiles and textile fabrics, fruit juice, tea in packets, terry towels, spices, stainless steel ware, PVC bags, melamine tableware, biscuit, electronics, cables, jute products etc.

Bangladesh’s imports from the UAE include fuel, mineral oil and products of their distillation, chemicals including fertilizer and bitumen.

BSS/SPL/GM/BR/1645 hrs