State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam has stressed the need to strengthen relations between Bangladesh and Montenegro.
Both sides laid emphasis on fully utilising Montenegro’s potential for regional connectivity in the Baltic region and beyond to explore untapped opportunities for enhancing cooperation between Bangladesh and Montenegro.
Gordan Stojovic, a Member of the Parliament of Montenegro, called on the State Minister at her office on Monday morning and discussed issues of mutual interest.
During the meeting, they discussed and emphasised the formation of a Bangladesh-Montenegro Parliamentary Friendship Group to broaden relations between the two parliaments, enhance parliamentary diplomacy, facilitate exchanges of delegations and strengthen people-to-people contacts.
Mentioning the ample potential for enhancing bilateral trade, they emphasised diversifying products and overcoming challenges to boost two-way trade.
Describing Montenegro as an importing country, the Montenegrin parliamentarian said his country could import more products from Bangladesh, including not only ready-made garments but also pharmaceuticals, leather and leather products, ceramics, and jute and jute products.
The State Minister highlighted investment opportunities in Bangladesh, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, agro-food processing, seafood, eco-tourism, ready-made garments, renewable energy and waste management.
The Montenegrin political leader indicated the possibility of investment from Montenegro in areas such as renewable energy.
Mentioning Montenegro’s significance as a regional tourism destination, the Montenegrin parliamentarian also expressed readiness for joint collaboration and investment in the development of Bangladesh’s tourism sector.
During the meeting, the leaders also discussed cooperation and partnerships in various sectors and issues, including education, women’s empowerment, sports and culture, manpower and employment opportunities, human mobility and migration, visa facilitation, and deeper engagement in international organisations on thematic issues such as climate change.
The State Minister said the government of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has been striving to increase the legal migration of skilled manpower from Bangladesh.
She said Bangladesh has a vast pool of skilled manpower, including IT professionals, engineers, construction workers and healthcare personnel.
The Montenegrin parliamentarian said his country needs more than 50,000 workers of such categories every year and responded positively to the possibility of recruiting manpower from Bangladesh through government-to-government (G2G) agreements to meet Montenegro’s labour needs in sectors such as tourism, construction, hospitality and medical caregiving.
Both parliamentarians agreed on the need to streamline work permit processes and labour mobility agreements to facilitate the contribution of Bangladeshi workers to Montenegro’s economy.