Riyadh, UAE (BBN)-A special delegation from the Saudi Ministry of Labour will visit Dhaka soon to coordinate orientation programs for the Bangladeshi workers who are due to arrive in the Kingdom for employment.
Bangladesh Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, who met his Saudi counterpart Adel Fakeih in Riyadh told the Arab News Monday, that he had fruitful discussions to strengthen the bilateral relations on labour issues.
“Bangladesh will receive a team from Saudi Arabia to set up orientation programs for Kingdom-bound workers from the country,” Hossain said.
Such orientation would help the Bangladeshi workers to fit into various jobs with ease and the satisfaction of both the employer and the employees, the minister added.
Bangladesh Ambassador Mohamed Shahidul Islam also took part in the bilateral talks, reports the Arab News Thursday.
Describing the talks as highly successful, the visiting minister said the discussions centered on various topics such as human resources development, manpower training, the recruitment of Bangladesh manpower to the Kingdom and several other issues related to the labour affairs of the two countries.
The minister explained that the talks also focused on several issues related to the Bangladesh workforce in the Kingdom.
“There are some 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom and such a large presence in a country would experience some problems which should be settled through negotiations,” he said.
Hossain also said that the two parties agreed to exchange high-level visits between the two countries.
He said that he had extended an invitation to the Saudi labour minister for an official visit to Dhaka within a period of three months.
The visiting minister is accompanied by a team comprising Mohamed Abul Kalam Azad, Senior Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office; Khandaker Maryland Iftekhar Haider, Secretary, Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment; Begum Shamsun Nahar, Director General, Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training; and high officials of the Bangladesh government.
Prior to the ministerial meeting, Deputy Labour Minister Dr. Moufarrej Al-Haqbani hosted a luncheon in honour of Mr. Hossain.
Subsequently in the evening, the minister met his community members at the Riyadh Palace Hotel.
He said the two countries have enjoyed excellent bilateral relations for several decades. “Our relationship is bound by religion, culture and common understanding,” he stressed.
Speaking to Arab News, Ambassador Islam said that the discussions opened up several new areas of cooperation between the two countries.
He noted that it may be too early to make an announcement but he was hopeful that the labour relations between the two countries may have stepped up with this important visit.
The Kingdom slowed down the manpower recruitment from Dhaka in 2008.
The country has its embassy and consulate in Riyadh and Jeddah respectively.
Around one hundred thousand pilgrims come for Hajj annually and a large number of Umrah pilgrims also come from Dhaka throughout the year in the Kingdom.
BBN/SS-22Jan15-12:50pm (BST)