Austria offers to take skilled workers from Bangladesh

Austria has offered to take skilled workers from Bangladesh and invest in green energy, particularly wind and waste-to-energy sectors.

The Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg conveyed it to Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud at a bilateral meeting in Vienna on Monday.

The two foreign ministers have agreed to deepen bilateral relations in the fields of economic cooperation, trade and investment, migration and mobility, climate change, waste management, as well as post-graduation trade facilities for Bangladesh.

They have also agreed that there are ample opportunities to increase bilateral trade and Austrian investment in Bangladesh.

Both the ministers have underscored the importance of the exchange of trade missions as well as the early signing of the proposed agreement on the avoidance of double taxation in this regard.

Schallenberg has agreed to send a trade mission to Bangladesh this autumn and explore opening a trade office in Dhaka.

The two ministers have agreed to conclude an MoU on migration and mobility soon to kickstart skill mobility from Bangladesh to Austria.

Hasan particularly highlighted that ICT professionals from Bangladesh can contribute to Austrian companies.

The two ministers have also shared their views on regional developments in South Asia and Europe and beyond, including the situations in Myanmar, Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific.

Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has urged the international community to help repatriate the forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Bangladesh to their homeland Myanmar for peace and stability in the region and beyond. 

Hasan is on a two-day visit to Vienna from April 28-29 at the invitation of the Austrian foreign minister to attend an international conference on Autonomous Weapon Systems.