EU provides Euro 0.3 million to ILO for Talent Partnership Project

The Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance, has recently signed a grant agreement worth € 3 million with the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The project entitled “Supporting a Talent Partnership with Bangladesh” will be implemented from 2024-2027 (three years) in collaboration with the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment and other stakeholders with support and financing from the European Union (EU), reports BSS.

This project continues the long-standing legacy of collaboration between the Government of Bangladesh and the International Labour Organization (ILO) since Bangladesh’s membership in the ILO on June 22, 1972.

Over the past 52 years, the ILO has provided both financial and technical assistance to promote inclusive economic growth, productive employment, and decent work for all in Bangladesh through partnerships with government agencies, employers, and workers’ organisations.

Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky, secretary of the ERD, and Tuomo Poutiainen, country director of the ILO, signed the project agreement on behalf of their respective sides, said an ERD press release in Dhaka on Monday.

The signing was witnessed by Michal Krejza, head of development cooperation for the EU delegation to Bangladesh; AKM Sohel, additional secretary of ERD, Md Saiful Haque Chowdhury, additional secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MOEWOE), along with senior officials from ERD, ILO, TMED, and other relevant government agencies.

The overall project objective is to upskill Bangladeshi migrant workers in occupational sectors such as health, engineering, ICT, care, hospitality, construction, and agriculture, in alignment with the skilled labour needs of the labour markets of Bangladesh and of select EU Member States.

Furthermore, the project will facilitate the establishment of regular and safe labour migration pathways between Bangladesh and select EU Member States.

As a result, the project interventions will contribute to the achievement of Bangladesh’s Five-Year Plan targets and the SDGs of education, labour, and reduction of inequalities (Goal 4, Goal 8, and Goal 10).