STOCKHOLM, Aug 9 (BSS): Bangladeshi expatriates in restaurant business here have won the hearts of the Swedish people along with millions of tourists due to their sincere efforts, hard work and friendly manners.
More than 80 per cent Indian restaurants are run by the Bangladeshis in the capital and other parts of Sweden, said Abul Bashar, owner of ASHA, a two-storey restaurant in Yangligatan, a place in downtown Stockholm.
Besides the restaurants, Bangladeshis are also involved in teaching profession at universities and schools, health services, community administration and tax offices while students are also in part-time jobs at different chain food outlets like McDonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hut, he said.
A spokeswoman of Bangladesh Embassy in Stockholm said that over 5,000 Bangladeshis were living in Sweden and most of them were in Stockholm.
Sweden, with just over nine million inhabitants in an area larger than California and nearly as large as France or Spain, is located in Scandinavian region. The Swedish countryside is full of green forests and lakes.
Statistics show that about 11 million people visited Sweden last year and over 0.16 million (1.60 lakh) people are engaged in country's tourism sector.
Sweden has earned about 240 billion Kroners equivalent to US$ 40 billion, a spokesman of Swedish tourism department said. She expressed the hope that about 12 per cent more tourists would visit Sweden this year.
During summer, the demand for Bangladeshi students at different shops and restaurants are high.
"You will see at least one or two Bangladeshi students working at chain food shops and shopping malls", said Masud Karim, a post-graduate student at Stockholm University.
