Singaporean Ambassador to Bangladesh Derek Loh called on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the latter's office in the capital on Sunday. — PID Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the transitional government, has urged Singapore to help recover billions of dollars laundered from Bangladesh and help minimise the high cost of migration.
Dr Yunus made the call when the Singaporean ambassador in Dhaka, Derek Loh, met him at his Tejgaon office on Sunday. They spoke for about an hour, said a spokesperson for the CA.
"A lot of money was siphoned off from Bangladesh to multiple countries, including Singapore," Dr Yunus told Mr Loh, adding: "We need full cooperation from Singapore."
In reply, the envoy pledged to cooperate with Dhaka.
Dr Yunus also urged the island nation to work with Bangladesh in its goal to significantly cut the cost of recruitment of workers from here.
The interim government wants to reduce the cost of migration with a view to helping Bangladeshi workers remit more to their families from abroad.
"We can create a model structure with Singapore on reducing recruitment costs," said the chief adviser.
Mr Loh too expressed Singapore's desire to work with Bangladesh as they wanted to remove rent-seeking from the recruitment process.
He suggested that Bangladesh digitalise its overseas recruitment system to reduce workers' chances of being exposed to human trafficking and exploitation.
The meeting also discussed trade and investment cooperation, the interim government's foreign policy, shipping, education and health care of peoples of both countries.
Dr Yunus said Bangladesh was now ready for business with the national economy making a good recovery in just three months after the dictatorship left it in a shambles.
"It's a good time to do business here," he asserted.
Francis Chong, senior director of Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry, said Bangladesh mooted a free trade agreement with Singapore back in 2021.
A feasibility study has been done on the proposed FTA. Both nations will now decide on how to launch free trade deal talks, according to him.
Meanwhile, Mr Loh said Singapore would be happy to share its expertise in water treatment and waste energy management, proposing collaboration between the food agencies of both countries.
About the foreign policy, Dr Yunus said his government was pursuing good relations with neighbours and trying to revive the SAARC as a platform to engage more extensively with its South Asian neighbours.
He sought Singapore's backing for Bangladesh's inclusion as a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN.
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