Dhaka wants 'return, reintegration package'

Amid the European Union's offer to cooperate with Bangladesh in sending back illegal migrants, Bangladesh has called for a "return and reintegration package" for its "irregular" migrants living in European countries.

The EU called on Bangladesh to bring back some 80,000 irregular Bangladeshis living in Europe and offered to design a special programme for the reintegration of returnees, at the first-ever Bangladesh-EU Dialogue on Migration Management in Dhaka.

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque led the Bangladesh delegation, while the 10-member EU delegation was led by Deputy Secretary General for Global and Economic Issues, European External Action Service (EEAS) Christian Leffler, at the dialogue held at the state guesthouse Meghna.

Diplomatic sources said the package might include training, skill development and small business for the returnees with the help of the EU so that the returnees could smoothly reintegrate into societies and carry forward their lives in a "dignified" manner.

The EU also offered cooperation in the field of information campaign and awareness-raising on the danger of irregular migration.

At the meeting, the EU team disagreed with Bangladesh on its call for legalising those irregular migrants to resolve the issue, saying it would not solve the problem but rather invite new irregular migrations.

Meeting sources said the Bangladesh side asked the EU delegation to provide a list of Bangladeshis staying illegally in Europe.

"The Bangladesh side highlighted the government's policy of bringing all the people in irregular situation back as well as the need for widening the scope of safe, orderly and regular migration," according to a joint statement issued following  conclusion of the dialogue.

After the dialogue, both sides did not want to mention the figure, earlier disclosed by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, saying the number was not important; rather the issue of its handling was important.

"This is completely an evolving situation. We cannot give the number. The important issue is to work together...," Leffler told reporters.

He made it sure that the media did not pick up the figure, 80,000, from him and said there were Bangladeshis in "irregular situation" in Europe like other foreign nationals.

"We agreed we will work together so that these people can be brought back safely to their homes and find a good productive way to reintegrate into their society," said the EU delegation leader.

He said they both looked at how to address this in an overall "comprehensive fashion" looking at the management of regular migration flows and handling irregular flows in a "structured, orderly and dignified" manner.

Asked whether they discussed any readmission agreement with Bangladesh, Leffler said they had discussed the best ways of handling these issues and the processes they could put in place to manage together.

Foreign Secretary Haque said they discussed how the irregular migrants could be brought back "safely and productively".

"At the same time we had an initial discussion as to create a greater platform for migration and mobility between Bangladesh and the EU. This is the main development," he added.

The two sides agreed to continue the dialogue looking at a wide-ranging approach to address the issues of migration and mobility, according to the EU-Bangladesh joint press release issued by the foreign ministry yesterday.

The dialogue focused on the entire spectrum of migration and mobility including global migration situation, Global Forum on Migration and Development, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in relation to migration, irregular migration, and trafficking.