Russia late Friday blocked agreement on the final document of a four-week review of the U.N. treaty considered the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament which criticized its military takeover of Europe’s largest nuclear plant soon after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, an act that has raised fears of a nuclear accident. Igor Vishnevetsky, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department, told the delayed final meeting of the conference reviewing the 50-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that “unfortunately there is no consensus on this document.” He insisted that many countries — not just Russia — didn’t agree with “a whole host of issues” in the 36-page last draft. The document needed approval by all 191 countries that are parties to the treaty aimed at curbing the spread of nuclear weapons and ultimately achieving a world without them. Argentine Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen, president of the conference, said the final draft represented his best efforts to address divergent views and the expectations of the parties “for a progressive outcome” at a moment in history where “our world is increasingly wracked by conflicts, and, most alarmingly, the ever growing prospect of the unthinkable nuclear war.” But after Vishnevetsky spoke, Zlauvinen told delegates, “I see that at this point, the conference is not in a position to achieve agreement on its substantive work.” The NPT review conference is supposed to be held every five years but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This marked the second failure of its state parties to produce an outcome document. The last review conference in 2015 ended without an agreement because of serious differences over establishing a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction. Those differences haven’t gone away but are being discussed, and the draft outcome documents obtained by The Associated Press would have reaffirmed the importance of establishing a nuclear-free Mideast zone. So, this was not viewed as a major stumbling block this year. The issue that changed the dynamics of the conference was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which brought Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning that Russia is a “potent” nuclear power and that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen.” He also put Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert. Putin has since rolled back, saying that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” a message reiterated by a senior Russian official on the opening day of the NPT conference on Aug. 2. Also read: Daughter of 'Putin's brain' ideologist killed in car blast But the Russian leader’s initial threat and the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine as well as the takeover of the Chernobyl nuclear plant, scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, renewed global fears of another nuclear emergency. Earlier this week, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the Security Council that the Biden administration was seeking a consensus final document that strengthens the nuclear treaty and acknowledges “the manner in which Russia’s war and irresponsible actions in Ukraine seriously undermine the NPT’s main purpose.” Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the United States and its allies at that council meeting of “politicizing the work on the final document, putting their geopolitical interests in punishing Russia above their collective needs in strengthening global security.” “Against the backdrop of the actual sabotage by the collective West of the global security architecture, Russia continues to do everything possible to keep at least its key, vital elements afloat,” Nebenzia said. The four references in the draft final document to the Zaporizhzhia plant, where Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling, would have had the parties to the NPT express “grave concern for the military activities” at or near the facility and other nuclear plants. It also would have recognized Ukraine’s loss of control and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s inability to ensure the plant’s nuclear material is safeguarded. It supported IAEA efforts to visit Zaporizhzhia to ensure there is no diversion of its nuclear materials. The agency’s director is hoping to organize in the coming day. The draft expressed “grave concern” at the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, in particular Zaporizhzia, and stressed “the paramount importance of ensuring control by Ukraine’s competent authorities.”

The government has worked out a plan to send 8.10 lakh Bangladeshi workers abroad and provide skills development training to 5.20 lakh ones in the current fiscal year(2022-23). Besides, to train up more workers for meeting the demands overseas job market it expected to start operation of some 100 technical trainer centres in different parts of the country. According to an official document, it is necessary to provide necessary training to workers for their skills development and ensure their better jobs abroad. To this end, all the training programmes of technical training institutes and institutes of marine technology are conducted under the National, Technical and Vocational Qualification Framework (NTVQF) from the last fiscal year( 2021-22). Also read: Friendly conditions to be created for Bangladeshi immigrants in Portugal: Francisco Andre Recognition of prior learning (RPL) activities has been taken up for effective use of the learning by migrant workers abroad to increase their earnings in the overseas labour market. Apart from this, foreign language teaching courses are going on in the 43 Teachers Training Colleges (TTCs). In addition, for bringing discipline in the immigration system three new online systems titled- ‘Employee Connectivity Reporting System’, ‘Online Grievance Management System’, and ‘Recruiting Agencies Information Management system (RAIMS)’ have been introduced, said the document. The government has taken up a range of initiatives for the welfare of both expatriate workers and workers returning from abroad. The discipline in the immigration system has been ensured through monitoring the activities of the recruiting agencies on regular basis. The document mentioned that this sector has been completely digitalised through different programmes like- creating professional database for employee recruitment; scrutinizing visa forms through mobile apps; separate portal for receiving grievance petitions and automation of the activities of the ‘Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training’ (BMET). Also read: ‘Incentive still inaccessible for most migrant workers’ A number of activities are going on for the purpose of re-integration of migrant workers who have returned home and providing soft investment loans for their self- employment; providing scholarships to the meritorious children of the expatriates and providing medical assistance to the disabled expatriate workers on their return. A plan of action for establishing technical training institutes at every Upazila  in phases has been taken up for inspiring the marginalised communities across the country. The document said that in 2020-2021 FY the growth of remittance stood at 36.10 percent. However, since the very beginning of fiscal 2021-2022, the income from remittances slightly decreased. With a view to encouraging remittance through legal channel, the government has raised the rate of incentives 0.5 percentage point to 2.5 percent from January, 2022. The government has withdrawn the mandatory provisions for submission of earning documents of the remitters in the case of availing cash incentives against remittances exceeding the amount of US$ 5,000. It is expected that, a satisfactory growth of remittance will be back on track soon, said the document. In 2019, $18.32 billion was remitted to Bangladesh, the third-highest recipient of remittance in South Asia. Over 10 million Bangladeshis are living and working abroad, mainly in the Middle East. They are the second largest contributor of the country’s foreign remittances after the garment sector. Last year alone, they sent over $22 billion back home, according to Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training data. According to the BMET, in 2019 alone, over 700,000 migrant workers left the country in search of employment abroad and over 73% of remittances were sent from Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Remittance inflows to Bangladesh directly impact socio-economic development and act as a lifeline to vulnerable communities. There should be an investment in education and skills upgrade so that lower-skilled migrant workers can earn more and break the cycle of debt, International Organisation of Migration suggests.