Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan have agreed to explore greater cooperation in trade, investment, education, skills development and labour mobility, with particular emphasis on expanding employment opportunities for skilled Bangladeshi workers in the Central Asian country.
The issues were discussed during three separate meetings between Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Ambassador Asad Alam Siam and senior Kyrgyz government officials in Bishkek yesterday (14 October), on the sidelines of the second round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between the two countries, said a foreign ministry's press release.
At a meeting with Kyrgyzstan's First Deputy Minister of Labour, Social Security and Migration Arlen Aliyasov, the foreign secretary discussed prospects for expanding overseas employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers.
The Kyrgyz side informed that the country was planning to recruit more foreign workers to meet growing labour demand arising from extensive development activities undertaken in recent years.
Potential employment sectors include construction, textiles, pharmaceuticals, digital services, agriculture and teaching.
Both sides discussed strengthening government-to-government (G2G) cooperation to facilitate safe and orderly labour mobility and explored the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the relevant authorities of the two countries.
The Kyrgyz deputy labour minister also expressed his interest in visiting Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time to further advance cooperation in employment and migration.
In another meeting, Siam held discussions with Kyrgyzstan's Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce Meder Tumanov on expanding bilateral trade, investment and broader economic partnerships.
The two sides explored opportunities for cooperation in cotton production, textiles and the ready-made garment (RMG) industry, taking into account their comparative advantages and potential access to Eurasian markets.
They also identified the pharmaceutical sector as a promising area for bilateral commercial cooperation.
Both sides emphasised the importance of strengthening private-sector engagement through exchanges of business delegations, participation in international trade exhibitions and greater business-to-business contacts.
They also discussed opportunities to utilise Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facilities to expand market access to Eurasian and European Union markets.
At a separate meeting with Kyrgyzstan's Minister of Science, Higher Education and Innovation Gulzat Isamatova, the foreign secretary explored avenues for strengthening bilateral cooperation in education, research and skills development.
The discussions focused on expanding educational exchanges and creating greater opportunities for Bangladeshi students to pursue higher education in Kyrgyzstan.
The Kyrgyz minister indicated that the number of scholarships available to Bangladeshi students could be increased in the future.
Siam invited Isamatova to visit Bangladesh to further strengthen cooperation between educational institutions of the two countries.
The Kyrgyz minister expressed her willingness to undertake the visit at a mutually convenient time.
The meetings reflected the two countries' growing interest in diversifying bilateral cooperation beyond traditional diplomatic engagements, particularly in economic development, human resource mobility and educational partnerships.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Tashkent Dr M Monirul Islam and Foreign Ministry Director General (East Europe and CIS) SM Mahbubul Alam were also members of the Bangladesh delegation.