Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin on Thursday requested the Italian Ambassador to resolve the outstanding work visa applications at an early date including through innovative means and assured all possible cooperation from the Bangladesh government in this regard.
He made the request when the Ambassador of Italy to Bangladesh Antonio Alessandro met him at his office.
The Foreign Secretary deeply appreciated Italy for being the generous host of the second-largest Bangladesh Diaspora in Europe and acknowledged their immense contributions to the economies of both countries.
The Ambassador congratulated Jashim Uddin on his appointment as the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh and hoped that bilateral relations between the two friendly countries will be further strengthened in the coming days.
Terming Bangladesh as an important country for Italy, particularly in terms of migration, the Ambassador expressed Italy’s desire to deepen migration cooperation with Bangladesh.
Ambassador Alessandro confirmed Italy’s will to resolve the outstanding work visa issue at an early date and cooperate further to curb irregular migration and promote legal pathways for skills mobility from Bangladesh to Italy, during the maiden courtesy call on the Foreign Secretary by the Ambassador of Italy at the Ministry today.
The Italian Ambassador informed that a significant number of work visa applications are now pending at the Embassy mainly due to the illicit meddling of organized criminal networks, constantly trying to interfere with the work visa system, the submission of counterfeit documents as well as the unforeseen surge of visa requests to the Embassy’s human resources.
He further informed that the Italian government has announced very stringent measures against human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
The competent offices of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Cooperation are now supporting the Embassy in discriminating against suspicious and genuine work permits (Nulla Osta) to fast-track the visa-issuing process.
This will allow the Embassy to clear a significant number of genuine visa applications by the year-end, as well as further investigate potentially suspicious requests, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ambassador expected that the work visa applications would be processed at a faster rate in the coming weeks with the reinforcement of additional officials at the Italian Embassy in Dhaka.
The Foreign Secretary thanked the Italian Ambassador for his earnest and practical efforts to resolve the outstanding work visa applications and both sides expected that the proposed MOU between the two governments on migration and mobility would be concluded soon to facilitate legal pathways for the employment of skilled workers, curb irregular migration from Bangladesh to Italy, and establish closer cooperation on repatriations.
