Staff Reporter

A dialogue on “The Role and Contribution of Intergovernmental Dialogues in Promoting Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration: Examples from the Budapest and Colombo Processes” was convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 16th May at the Foreign Service Academy.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Dr. Munirus Saleheen and Secretary General of Bangladesh Parliamentarians’ Caucus on Migration and Development Mahjabeen Khaled spoke in the dialogue. Dr. Michael Spindelegger, Director General, International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) delivered keynote speech at the event.

In his statement, Foreign Secretary Ambassador Momen said that Bangladesh would always remain vocal about the human rights and dignity of migrants and refugees, and issues like high migration costs and migrant workers’ exploitations. He also stated that Bangladesh will remain open to working together with all destination countries to eliminate unethical practices in the recruitment processes and pave the way for skilled migration. He further added that the Government of Bangladesh has undertaken a series of forward-looking initiatives under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister for skilled migration.

During the dialogue, the Senior Secretary of Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment emphasized on continuous, effective intergovernmental dialogues, cooperation and engagements for safe, orderly, regular and responsible migration. In the keynote speech, the Director General of ICMPD emphasized the importance of regional and cross-regional migration through legal pathways and called upon a paradigm shift towards migration perspectives from both the source and destination countries. Mahjabeen Khaled highlighted the perspectives of parliamentarians towards the overall migration management and governance.

After the dialogue, the visiting Director General of ICMPD called on the Foreign Secretary and discussed about how to manage the migration issues effectively. The ICMPD Director General is on a two-day visit to Bangladesh.