Foreign secretary discusses bilateral issues with Czech leaders
He urged Czech businesses to consider joint ventures in the sectors of mutual interests
High level officials of Bangladesh and the Czech Republic have engaged in a discussion to explore the recruitment of skilled Bangladeshi workers under a pilot initiative and enhance bilateral economic ties.
The discussion was held when Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin met with the Director General of the Employment Policy of the Czech Republic Katerina Štepánková in Prague last week, said a foreign ministry press release today (7 December).
During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on the Czech Republic's employment policies and discussed the ways of streamlining the visa process for Bangladeshi workers to facilitate potential manpower collaboration.
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In a separate meeting with Radek Jakubsky, Vice President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, the foreign secretary highlighted the incentives and facilities offered by Bangladesh to foreign investors.
He urged Czech businesses to consider joint ventures in the sectors of mutual interests, particularly in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Discussions between the two also focused on reviving collaboration between the apex trade bodies of the two countries following their 2013 Memorandum of Understanding.
Foreign Secretary Jashim proposed a virtual meeting to strengthen interaction between the chambers.
Radek Jakubsky welcomed the suggestion and further proposed hosting a briefing for Czech investors about the investment opportunities in Bangladesh.
The foreign secretary also met State Secretary of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade Vladimír Mana to review the ongoing economic cooperation and discuss diversification of trade.
Both the officials stressed the importance of broadening import and export areas to boost up the bilateral trade relations.
During the meeting, Jashim expressed Bangladesh's interest in signing an agreement on Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Bilateral Investments.
He highlighted Bangladesh's growing pool of IT professionals and invited Czech companies to recruit Bangladeshi experts in this sector.
Jashim also sought expedited convening of the Joint Commission on Trade Promotion and Economic Cooperation, established under the 2019 Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Vladimír Mana expressed the Czech Republic's commitment to hold the commission's first meeting in the second half of 2025.
Jashim provided updates on EU-Bangladesh initiatives, including negotiations on the Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA).
He underlined Bangladesh's efforts to meet EU regulatory standards on labour and environmental compliance to be qualified for the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) after its LDC graduation in 2029. He requested for Czech technical support in achieving these goals.
Mana identified Bangladesh as a key partner for the Czech Republic and expressed interest in cooperation on supply chains, connectivity, Indo-Pacific initiatives, and cyber security.
