Govt courting UAE officials to lift visa ban on Bangladesh

Dhaka, 18  Feb  – The interim government is making serious efforts to lift the UAE’s visa restrictions on Bangladeshi citizens in a bid to export more workers from the country, said CA’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Tuesday.

“We want that the visa restrictions would go soon. If the visa restriction is lifted, we hope many Bangladeshis will get jobs there in the UAE,” he said at a press briefing in the Foreign Service Academy here.

He said Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus raised the visa restriction issue during the talks with several UAE ministers during his recent visit to Dubai to attend the World Governments Summit.

“There was serious discussion on this issue. This discussion will continue in future,” said Shafiqul Alam, adding that the visa restriction issue has turned into a cumulative problem since 2012.

Noting that a comprehensive dialogue is being held with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he said Bangladesh wants its relations with them to be upgraded further.

“If so, we will be able to draw more investment from UAE. We want the visa restrictions to be lifted soon,” he added.

He said Chief Adviser's special envoy on international affairs Lutfey Siddiqui has already been assigned with this task and Lutfey Siddiqui has also talked to four to five UAE ministers in this regard.

Following the comprehensive discussion, the UAE is more serious about relations with Bangladesh. “We hope that the relationship with UAE that deteriorated to the lowest level (during the Awami League’s regime), will get better in the days ahead.

“If so, the new door will be opened for Bangladesh to export a huge manpower to UAE,” said the press secretary.

CA’s deputy press secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumdar was present at the briefing.

UAE visas are currently closed for at least 9 countries, including Bangladesh.