Bangladesh, Italy seek deeper trade, migration and investment ties
Bangladesh and Italy agreed to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, migration and other priority sectors at the third round of Bangladesh-Italy Political Consultations in Rome.
Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam and Ambassador Riccardo Guariglia, secretary-general of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, led their respective delegations at the third round of Bangladesh-Italy Political Consultations in Rome on Wednesday, according to a press release.
The two sides expressed satisfaction with the breadth and depth of bilateral engagement and reviewed the full spectrum of Bangladesh-Italy relations.
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Bangladesh thanked Italy for its support during the country's democratic transition and reform initiatives, while reaffirming its readiness to advance cooperation in line with its development and strategic priorities.
On economic cooperation, the two sides discussed ways to boost bilateral trade, promote investment and joint ventures, and explore deeper, more sustainable economic ties.
Bangladesh highlighted its recent reforms as evidence of its commitment to creating an investor-friendly environment.
It also sought Italy's support at the UN General Assembly for deferring Bangladesh's graduation from least developed country status.
Bangladesh stressed the importance of continued access for its exports to the European market following LDC graduation through instruments such as a free trade agreement and an investment protection agreement.
In this regard, Bangladesh requested Italy's political and technical support for Bangladesh-EU free trade agreement negotiations and an early review of the automatic safeguard threshold for textile and readymade garment products under the EU's new Generalised Scheme of Preferences regulation.
On migration and skills development, Bangladesh thanked Italy for hosting a large number of Bangladeshi nationals. It called for the Talent Partnership with Italy to facilitate greater mobility for Bangladeshi workers.
Bangladesh also outlined its initiatives to prevent irregular migration, saying the measures had yielded positive results.
It stressed the importance of opening more legal migration pathways under the 2025 memorandum of understanding on migration and mobility and also sought Italian support for language and skills training for prospective workers.
The Bangladesh delegation raised the plight of several hundred Bangladeshi workers who entered Italy through regular channels in 2022 and 2023 but now face difficulties changing employers and extending their residence permits because their original sponsors are unreachable.
Bangladesh requested Italy's special consideration for the regularisation of the affected workers.
The two sides also discussed expanding cooperation in culture, education, defence, technology, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, climate change and food security.
The delegations exchanged views on regional and global developments and cooperation in multilateral forums.
Bangladesh requested greater political and humanitarian support from Italy towards achieving a lasting solution to the protracted Rohingya crisis.
The two sides agreed to hold the next round of Political Consultations in Dhaka next year on a mutually convenient date.
Later in the day, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam met World Food Programme Assistant Executive Director Matthew Hollingworth.
They discussed the agency's humanitarian assistance for forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals, as well as cooperation on food security, anticipatory action, resilience-building, school feeding and other nutrition programmes in Bangladesh.
