Italian PM likely to visit Bangladesh in August

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is likely to pay an official visit to Bangladesh in the last week of August, as the two countries seek to deepen cooperation in key areas and further strengthen bilateral relations.

Officials from both sides are currently working to finalise the details and ensure the success of the visit, according to a diplomatic source.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who visited Bangladesh earlier this month, informed Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus that Italy is willing to hire more people from Bangladesh and will undertake measures to ensure safe migration from the country.

Matteo conveyed to the Chief Adviser that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to visit Bangladesh sometime before September, as Rome is keen to 'renew' and 're-launch' its bilateral cooperation with Dhaka, officials said.

The Chief Adviser said Bangladesh is eager to work with Italy to stop illegal migration and human trafficking.

“Bangladeshis living in Italy are very grateful to the host country and appreciative of the way they are treated in Italy,” Yunus said.

In the margins of the high-level week of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in September last year, the President of the Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, met Chief Adviser Prof Yunus.

During the meeting, Meloni expressed Italy’s support for the reform process in Bangladesh and the main goal of improving the population’s social and economic conditions.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss migration, with the intention being stated to strengthen cooperation on this issue, in particular by relaunching negotiations to complete a bilateral agreement to combat irregular migration flows, establish closer cooperation on returns and, at the same time, support legal paths.

Source: UNB