Vice President Faisal Naseem has discussed regularising migrant workers with Bangladesh. He held the discussions with the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to the Maldives Rear Admiral S.M. Abul Kalam Azad.
During a meeting held at the President's Office, Vice President Naseem and High Commissioner Azad discussed mutual interest and cooperation areas, including people-to-people interactions, trade, healthcare, tourism, and human resource development opportunities. The vice president expressed gratitude for the contribution of the Bangladeshi workforce to the development of the Maldives and said that ensuring workplace security and safety for workers had been a top priority for the administration and noted that more needs to be done on this front. He also said the administration has been working on the regularisation of migrant workers, citing a need for an increased number of workers with the influx of developmental projects across the nation.
Also at the meeting, High Commissioner Azad expressed gratitude to the administration for the assistance provided to Bangladeshi nationals working in the Maldives during the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine equity policy, ensuring that they received timely vaccination. The high commissioner also discussed prior high-level, successful visits by leaders of state and government from both nations, which further reinforced the relationship between the two countries. They concluded their meeting after agreeing to further strengthen existing relations between the two friendly nations.
The Maldives and Bangladesh established diplomatic relations in 1978.