Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Nicolas Linus Ragnar Weeks paid a courtesy call on Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at his office at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed a range of issues of mutual interest, including security, preventing irregular migration, expanding trade, promoting technical education, increasing technical assistance and finding a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis.
The home minister described Sweden as an important development partner of Bangladesh and said the government was placing particular emphasis on developing skilled and globally competitive human resources through the modernisation of technical education.
He said plans and projects were being undertaken to establish new technical education institutions in different parts of the country.
The minister said demand for skilled workers, including caregivers, was increasing in Sweden and other European markets.
He expressed hope for close cooperation from the Swedish government in improving the quality of technical education, strengthening training and facilitating the export of skilled workers from Bangladesh.
During the discussion, Ambassador Weeks said Bangladesh was the only country in South Asia with which Sweden had a Bilateral Cooperation Strategy.
He said commercial ties between Bangladesh and Sweden were deepening, while Swedish investment was increasing in various promising sectors, including ready-made garments and healthcare.
The ambassador also said around 10,000 Bangladeshis currently lived in Sweden, a large proportion of whom were students.
Expressing concern over irregular migration to Sweden, Ambassador Weeks said some innocent people were falling victim to irregular migration after being lured by unscrupulous human-trafficking networks.
In response, the home minister said the Ministry of Home Affairs was taking strict and effective measures to prevent human trafficking. He said the desire for a better life and inducements offered by traffickers were among the main reasons behind irregular migration.
He said the government was conducting various initiatives, including nationwide awareness campaigns in coordination with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), to address the problem.
Describing the Rohingya crisis as a major threat to regional security, Salahuddin Ahmed said Sweden, as co-chair of the Rohingya Donor Group, had an important role to play in keeping the issue on the international community’s agenda.
He requested Sweden to increase its assistance to improve the living conditions of displaced Rohingyas.
The Swedish ambassador stressed the importance of the safe repatriation and rehabilitation of the Rohingyas and reiterated Sweden’s interest in working on education and overall security for Rohingya women and children.
The home minister said dignified and sustainable repatriation to Myanmar was the only solution to the Rohingya crisis.
Senior officials from the home ministry and representatives of the Swedish Embassy in Bangladesh were present at the meeting.
