Italy PM Meloni to visit Dhaka in December; trade, legal migration to top agenda
Both governments are currently holding high-level consultations to finalise the visit, likely between 18 and 20 December, which is being viewed as a major step towards elevating bilateral ties
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to make a one-day state visit to Bangladesh in the third week of December 2025 at the invitation of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, diplomatic sources in Dhaka, Rome, and Milan have confirmed.
Both governments are holding high-level talks to finalise the visit, likely between 18 and 20 December. The trip is seen as an important step toward strengthening bilateral relations.
A senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the visit "will mark a new chapter in Dhaka-Rome relations, particularly in trade, investment, and labour cooperation."
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According to diplomatic sources, Italy plans to recruit about 50,000 skilled Bangladeshi workers in various sectors over the next two years. This comes as part of Italy's plan to issue nearly 500,000 new work visas for non-EU nationals between 2026 and 2028 to tackle labour shortages and promote legal migration.
Meloni's Dhaka visit — her first to Bangladesh and the first by any Italian premier since the country's independence — was initially scheduled for August 2025 but was postponed due to her role in NATO-led negotiations over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The upcoming visit will focus on boosting cooperation in trade, investment, economic development, and social business, alongside legal and regulated labour migration.
Officials said discussions will include recruiting new workers and regularising Bangladeshi workers already in Italy, while exploring new options for formal migration.
Strengthening legal migration channels
Italian Ambassador to Bangladesh Antonio Alessandro told The Business Standard that Italy, as a member of the European Union, "promotes and supports regular and legal migration" to meet its manpower needs.
"Bangladesh should put greater emphasis on regular and legal migration, which will help the country tap a better slice of the Italian labour market," he said.
"The expected visit of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni gives us a great opportunity to expand this cooperation. The government should strictly punish human traffickers and launch massive awareness campaigns against irregular migration," he added.
Italy is currently Bangladesh's sixth-largest export destination, with bilateral trade exceeding $2.2 billion, mainly driven by ready-made garment (RMG) exports. Bangladesh also exports leather, ceramics, ICT products, and jute goods to Italy and other European countries.
Remittances from Bangladeshi workers in Italy remain an important source of foreign income. According to the Bangladesh Bank, expatriates in Italy sent home $1.65 billion in FY2024-25, up from $1.48 billion in the previous year.
During the visit, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus is expected to seek Italy's support for Bangladesh's ongoing reform process and initiatives to improve the population's social and economic conditions, diplomatic sources said.
