Brunei to hire more Bangladeshi workers, MoU likely during Sultans' visit

A number of bilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoU), including one for the recruitment of workers from Bangladesh, are expected to be signed during the first-ever visit of the Brunei Sultan to Bangladesh.

The agreements and MoUs to be signed involve issues including direct flights between the two countries and certification of sailors working on ocean-going ships, said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at a press briefing in his office on Tuesday.

Mentioning that the issue of employing Bangladeshi workers in Brunei will be a priority during the Sultan's visit, the foreign minister said many Bangladeshis, mostly construction workers, are currently working in Brunei. 

"Brunei is a small country with about 4.5 lakh people but it is very rich. The Bangladeshis who work there are very well off and have no complaints," Momen said. 

Currently, around 20,000-25,000 Bangladeshi workers are employed in Brunei, the minister said in response to a query by The Business Standard (TBS).

According to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET), Brunei hired 75,435 Bangladeshi workers from 1992 to August of this year.

On average, 5,000 Bangladeshis were employed per year in Brunei before the Covid-19 pandemic. However, only 950 workers were recruited by Brunei between January 2020 and August 2022.

Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) told TBS, "Brunei is one of the old labour markets for Bangladeshis as it opens the door to us in 1992. The country is not a large market like the middle-eastern ones but the significance is that a worker in Brunei can earn just like a worker typically earns in Singapore."

A Bangladeshi construction worker can earn 600-700 Brunei dollars per month there, he said, hoping that the MoU on manpower recruitment would allow private recruitment as well as government-to-government (G2G) recruitment.

Introducing direct flight operations

The direct flights will boost tourism and trade between the two countries, the foreign minister said.

He said, "Discussions are going on with Brunei regarding fuel import. Progress has been made in these discussions, and they [Brunei] are interested. It will be brought up during Sultan's visit as well."

Mentioning that the Brunei Sultan is interested in halal [which literally means permissible in Islam] products of Bangladesh, the foreign minister said, "Our country has a lot of buffaloes, cows and goats. The Sultan is especially fond of our Black Bengal goats."

"Brunei imports everything from abroad. They are now emphasising food security. We are in a fairly good position in this regard. We are leading in the production of rice and fish. Brunei is keen to cooperate with us in agriculture and fisheries. We have extensive experience in shrimp and fish farming. They want that," Momen said.

The visit will create an opportunity for a greater exchange of views between the prime minister and the Sultan on various regional and global issues including the Rohingya issue, the minister said. 

Over the past decade, cooperation with Brunei has been expanding in various fields including trade, investment, energy, agriculture, and human resource development, Momen said, adding that both countries can benefit from the establishment of bilateral cooperation in various fields in Brunei, a high-income country rich in energy resources.

In order to increase the country's income in agriculture, the foreign minister said the government wants to send the country's farmers abroad to produce food by leasing land there.

"It will also increase our income and create employment for the people of the country," he said, adding that discussions have been held with some countries in this regard and a few countries have expressed interest.

Sultan of Brunei, Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on 15 October on a three-day state visit.