Austria offers to take skilled workers from Bangladesh, invest in green energy

Austria has offered to accept skilled workers from Bangladesh and also expressed interest in investing in the country's green energy initiatives, particularly within the wind and waste-to-energy sectors.

The Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg conveyed it to Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud at a bilateral meeting today (29 April) in Vienna, read a press release of the ministry.

The two foreign ministers 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 also acknowledged that there are ample opportunities to increase bilateral trade and Austrian investment in Bangladesh.

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

During the meeting, both the ministers underscored the importance of exchange of trade missions as well as early signing of the proposed agreement on the avoidance of double taxation in this regard.

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

The two ministers also agreed to conclude an MoU on migration and mobility soon to kick start skill mobility from Bangladesh to Austria. During this time, Hasan Mahmud particularly highlighted that ICT professionals from Bangladesh can contribute to Austrian companies.

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

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

FM Hasan calls for no more weapons

At the conference on weapon systems, Finance Minister Hasan Mahmud called upon the international community to get away with any new weapons let alone autonomous weapons for the sake of humanity.

He made the call during a high-level panel discussion on the challenges of regulating the autonomous weapon systems where the Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Tinoco, Norwegian State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson and the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger also joined as co-panelists.

The finance minister underscored the importance of benevolent application of AI in agriculture, medical science, space exploration, climate change, job creation, etc. for the benefit of mankind, and not in weapon systems to wipe out humanity.

He posed a question about what would happen to international peace and security, if the non-state actors and terrorist organisations get access to AI-driven autonomous weapon systems. He suggested setting global norms to effectively regulate the autonomous weapons systems. 

Highlighting the precarious situation in Gaza, he also cautioned the international community against opening a new front of conflicts and tensions.