Dhaka committed to labour reforms

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus yesterday said Bangladesh is committed to carrying out “sweeping labour reforms”, a key prerequisite of the US government for investment, trade facilities, and development funding.

He made the comment when the US Chargé d’affaires Helen LaFave paid him a farewell visit at his office in the capital’s Tejgaon.

Over the past several years, labour reforms was a prioritised issue during bilateral meetings between Dhaka and Washington.

During the visit, LaFave and Prof Yunus spoke about judicial reforms, South Asian electricity connectivity, counterterrorism, efforts to bring back tens of billions of dollars stolen from Bangladesh during the previous government’s tenure, and reforms in civil bureaucracy.

LaFave said the US was already supporting Bangladesh with advice and other forms of assistance to help recover the money and bring it back to Bangladesh.

She said repatriating stolen money is difficult but doable. “We’ll definitely make it happen,” the chief adviser told her.

The US Chargé d’affaires handed over a letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to him.

During the meeting, the acting US envoy told Prof Yunus that the US was expediting the resettlement of the Rohingyas from Bangladeshi camps to the North American nation.

She also said a number of senior US officials would visit Bangladesh in the next few months in an effort to cement the ties between the two friendly nations.