Romania to hire 1 lakh foreign workers, including Bangladeshis, next year: Momen
He mentioned that the Bangladesh ambassador in Romania had briefed him on the issue
Romania will recruit one lakh foreign workers including Bangladeshis, mostly for the construction sector, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said on Tuesday.
"People started going to Romania last year. Over one lakh, mostly construction workers, will be hired next year. It's good news for Bangladesh too. As like before, they [Romania] will open a temporary consulate office here to recruit from Bangladesh," he told journalists on Tuesday evening at his office.
He mentioned that the Bangladesh ambassador in Romania had briefed him on the issue.
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"For long, our people only went to the Middle East. We have been trying to see if they can be sent to other countries," he added.
He said, "Romania did not have any consulate in Bangladesh. I told them to open a consulate office. But they don't want to spend so much money for it. The same situation exists in some countries including Malta, Hungary and Bulgaria.
"Later, when we talked about providing local hospitality, they agreed and gave 14,000 visas. Construction work is needed in their country," he added.
After Bulgaria, Romania has opened its doors for Bangladeshi skilled workforce, widening scopes for jobs in farm, construction and service sectors in Eastern Europe.
Following bilateral consultation between the ministers for foreign affairs of the two countries in October 2021, Romania agreed to open a temporary consular office in Dhaka.
Earlier in 1975, Bangladesh opened its first mission in Romania but it was shut down in 1995, while Romania closed its mission in Bangladesh in 2000. Bangladesh has reopened its embassy recently.
Earlier in February this year, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told journalists that Romania is sending a six-member consular team to Dhaka for three months to issue about 5,000 visas, including 3,400 pending visas.
"Earlier Bangladeshis had to go to India to get Romanian visas. With the efforts of our government, Romania opened a temporary consular office in Dhaka, and our workers are benefiting from it," Md Shahidul Alam, director general of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), told The Business Standard.
Some 161 Bangladeshis lived in Romania till 2020, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
However, the organisation said many Bangladeshis frequently use illegal routes to reach various European countries and at least 21 Bangladeshis reached Romania illegally in 2020.
In 2020, the expatriate welfare and overseas employment ministry set the migration cost for Romania-bound workers through government arrangement at Tk1,65,000 each. The cost charged by private recruiters is no less than Tk10-Tk12 lakh per person.
