Minister of State for Manpower and Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash met with Bangladesh State Minister of Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam during her first official visit to Singapore.
“We had a good exchange on how Singapore and Bangladesh are preparing our people with the skills they need for the jobs of the future. We also reaffirmed our commitment to improving the well-being of migrant workers, such as better housing standards and healthcare access in Singapore. She also agreed that it was important to tackle the issue of recruitment fees that workers may incur outside Singapore,” Mr Dinesh said in Facebook post.
He added, “There was discussion on the recent salary non-payment case involving a number of migrant workers, including workers from Bangladesh. She expressed her appreciation towards Singapore’s efforts to support the affected workers through this difficult period. I look forward to building on the strong ties between Singapore and Bangladesh, and deepening our cooperation in areas of mutual interest.”
Bangladesh media reported that Minister Ms Shama also highlighted that Bangladesh is focusing on language proficiency for Bangladeshi expatriates and encouraging them to learn a third language.
She added that women constitute around half of Bangladesh’s population and have significant potential to work in the care and nursing sectors, and proposed that Singapore could consider providing relevant training for Bangladeshi nurses who could come to Singapore as caregivers for elderly people.
She also proposed cooperation between major public hospitals in Bangladesh and Singapore, including Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Singapore General Hospital and National University Hospital, in areas of mutual interest, Bangladesh news reports added.
