Brunei urged to remove hurdles to recruiting BD workers

FE REPORT
Bangladesh has requested Brunei to remove the discriminatory treatment against Bangladeshi immigrant workers as compared to other countries, considering the benefits of the two countries.
"We request Brunei to remove the discriminatory rule … Bangladeshi immigrant workers have to deposit US$1600 while the amount is only $500 for Malaysian workers," Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi told a breakfast meeting with a visiting Brunei delegation at a city hotel on Sunday.
Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and Minister of Finance and Economy of Brunei Dr. Amin Abdullah and Minister of Home Affairs of Brunei Ahmaddin bin Haji Abdul Rahman were included in the delegation.
Brunei has also been urged to tap the potentials in terms of trade and investment as Bangladesh offers additional opportunities to get access to the huge Indian and Chinese markets where products of Bangladesh origin enjoy duty-free status.
Mr Munshi also highlighted some of the salient features of Bangladesh's foreign investment policy and requested Brunei to invest here.
Speaking at the meeting, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam urged the delegation to appoint more manpower from Bangladesh that is now focusing more on creating skilled manpower.
He also invited Brunei to come up with capital and marketing assistance as Bangladesh may offer a dedicated economic zone for the ASEAN countries.
Brunei Minister of Finance Dr. Abdullah offered to use their seaport, which is close to China, as a transshipment hub and said it would help save time and money for the Bangladeshi businesses.
Minister of Home Affairs of Brunei Mr Rahman appreciated the contribution of the skilled Bangladeshi manpower to keeping the Brunei economy afloat.
President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Md Jashim Uddin requested Brunei to consider Bangladesh as their next trade and investment destination considering mutual benefits of the two Muslim brotherly countries.
"We have on-going development projects to facilitate investment," he said, listing the projects like deep seaports, 100 special economic zones, hi-tech parks, tourism parks, nuclear power plant, metro rail, LNG terminal and construction of roads and railways to bring the entire country under a common network.
"So, our story is now very different from what it was before and Brunei can choose Bangladesh as their next destination for trade and investment," he added.
He apprised the delegation of the areas of mutual cooperation like development and innovation, food processing, ICT, plastic, petrochemical, shipbuilding, tourism, infrastructure development, petroleum and energy, and knowledge transfer to transition to the 4IR.
FBCCI Director Priti Chakraborty recommended setting up training institutes in joint ventures to create skilled manpower in shipbuilding, health and ICT sectors.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan and FICCI President Naser Ezaz Bijoy also spoke at the meeting while FBCCI Vice Presidents Md. Amin Helaly, Salahuddin Alamgir and Md. Habib Ullah Dawn were present.
After the meeting, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between ZES Trading and Ghanim International Corporation to introduce Halal food from Brunei in the Bangladesh market.
Dr. Nur Rahman from Ghanim International and FBCCI Director Dr. Kazi Ertaza Hassan, CIP signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations.
Later, the Brunei ministers inaugurated an outlet of Brunei Halal Foods at Gulshan-2 in the capital.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com