Dhaka:State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam has emphasized the importance of strengthening relations between Bangladesh and Montenegro, particularly in trade and labor cooperation.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Gordan Stojovic, a Member of the Parliament of Montenegro, met with the State Minister at her office to discuss mutual interests and potential collaborations. They considered forming a Bangladesh-Montenegro Parliamentary Friendship Group to enhance parliamentary diplomacy, facilitate delegation exchanges, and foster people-to-people contacts.
Both officials highlighted the potential for increasing bilateral trade by diversifying products and overcoming existing challenges. Montenegro, as an importing country, expressed interest in sourcing more products from Bangladesh, including pharmaceuticals, leather goods, ceramics, and jute products, in addition to ready-made garments.
Investment opportunities in Bangladesh were also a key topic, with discussions on sectors such as agriculture, agro-food processing, seafood, eco-tourism, renewable energy, and waste management. Montenegro showed interest in investing in Bangladesh's tourism sector and renewable energy.
The meeting also addressed cooperation in education, women's empowerment, sports, culture, and human mobility. The State Minister noted Bangladesh's efforts to increase legal migration of skilled workers, with a vast pool of IT professionals, engineers, construction workers, and healthcare personnel available.
Montenegro expressed a need for more than 50,000 workers annually in sectors like tourism, construction, and healthcare, showing interest in recruiting from Bangladesh through government-to-government agreements. Both sides agreed on the necessity of streamlining work permit processes and labor mobility agreements to support Bangladeshi workers' contributions to Montenegro's economy.