United News of Bangladesh

Highlighting the importance of safe, orderly, and regular migration, Bangladesh on Monday issued a stern warning to bring unscrupulous syndicates involved in illegal practices under the law. The warning came at a meeting on migration, mobility, and the Bangladesh situation held at the State Guest House Padma at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The discussion took place against the backdrop of recent deaths of Bangladeshi migrants in the Mediterranean Sea while attempting the perilous Bangladesh-Libya-Italy route through irregular channels.  Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, senior government officials, the Ambassador of Italy, the CDA a.i. of Libya, and the Chief of IOM Mission in Dhaka also took part in the discussion with Shama Obaed in chair. The State Minister highlighted the “zero tolerance” commitment of the new government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman toward illegal migration. At the session, Ambassador of Italy to Bangladesh Antonio Alessandro informed that the European Union is going to enact a new regulation on asylum and migration in June 2026, under which the asylum process would become tougher for illegal migrants seeking legal status. The meeting discussed ways for the future expansion of safe, orderly, and regular migration pathways by equipping migrants with skills, language proficiency, and making regular pathways more attractive. The need to link skill training with employment opportunities and collaborate with employers in destination countries to establish employment-guaranteed migration frameworks was underlined for a well-managed regular migration pathway. The State Minister also opined that the Bangladeshi diaspora should be engaged so that they could contribute more through remittances, capital, expertise, and ideas imbued with the vision of “Bangladesh First” to push Bangladesh onto a development trajectory envisioned by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. The meeting ended with a general agreement among all partners to continue working together in close coordination to curb illegal migration, promote regular migration, and maintain a humane, regular, and rights-based approach throughout the migration process.

Speakers at a workshop on Thursday said that media can play a vital role in ensuring safe migration in a world where unsafe migration kills people, destroys families and drain resources. They said migration is a national, international and geopolitical issue responsible handling could help people avoid irregular migration.  The views came at the workshop titled "Migration and Media" organised by International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in cooperation with Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at a city hotel. Read:'Migration from Bangladesh to Japan shaped people-to-people contact' Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley, Chief of Mission, IOM Bangladesh Abdusattor Esoev and DCAB President Rezaul Karim Lotus spoke at the inaugural session moderated by former Foreign Secretary and Senior Policy Advisor IOM Bangladesh Shahidul Haque. Shahidul conducted a session titled "Global Migration Trends and Issues; Challenges and Options for Bangladesh" while there is another session on "Migration Diplomacy: Bangladesh Perspective" by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen. Speaking in the inaugural session, the EU envoy highlighted the power of media and said media plays an important role.  Read:Bangladesh can’t & shouldn’t bear Rohingyas’ responsibility alone: IOM He appreciated Bangladesh government's efforts to address the challenges in terms of migration management.  Bangladesh as a major country in sending migrant workers has been at the forefront of shaping policy discourse particularly through leading the processes related to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and protecting the rights of migrants through national initiatives. While significant progress has been made in the arena of migration governance and related issues, there is a need to enhance the understanding of key stakeholders including journalists, the speakers said. 

Speakers at a meeting at Shariatpur district on Friday highlighted the importance of creating mass awareness on the negative aspects of the human trafficking so that everyone is encouraged for safe migration. Local leaders, media, NGOs, Imams, school and college teachers have been requested to play active role in this regard. The speakers appreciated such initiative of having all the stakeholders in one platform to address the illegal migration issue properly. The town hall meeting on "Preventing Human Trafficking and Encouraging Safe Migration" held at the Pourashava auditorium of Shariatpur district was arranged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the cooperation of the Shariatpur District Administration. Nahim Razzaq, Member of Parliament and Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke as the chief guest.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam on Thursday sought "proactive and meaningful" role of the international community for a sustainable solution to the prolonged Rohingya crisis through their repatriation to Myanmar.