Bangladesh in world media this week

The Business Insider Bangladesh on February 9 broke the news of a former Bangladesh ambassador being arrested by Malaysian authorities was picked by many local and foreign media outlets. Also, the news of Malaysia and Greece opening their labour markets to Bangladeshi workers was covered by the two countries’ news platforms.

Here is a pick of five stories on Bangladesh that made headlines on international media in the outgoing week (February 5 to February 11):

Malaysian minister confirms arrest of former Bangladeshi High Commissioner to M’sia

Authorities here have confirmed the arrest of former Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Malaysia M Khairuzzaman, reported Malaysia’s The Star on February 10.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said he was aware of the arrest of the former diplomat.

“The arrest was made according to procedures,” he said on Thursday (Feb 10).

On the grounds of the arrest, the minister said it was due to “an offence committed and a request by his home country,” he said

According to reports, Malaysian authorities had arrested the former high commissioner, who is said to have been living here for more than a decade.

Khairuzzaman, a retired army major, was accused of participating in the 1975 Jail Killing case and was later acquitted before being appointed as Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Malaysia in 2007 during the caretaker government.

Greece to Hire 4,000 Bangladeshis Yearly

Greece and Bangladesh signed a deal on Wednesday for Greece to employ 4,000 Bangladeshi workers annually, reported Greek news portal the Greek Reporter on February 9.

Bangladesh Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad and Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis signed the deal together in Dhaka.

The two countries have decided to expand the agreement as needed, potentially adding sectors and workers to the deal. Workers will have to leave Greece after the five year period ends.

Greece plans to present the deal for approval. This is Bangladesh’s first such employment contract in Europe.

Applicants are required to submit their own work contracts, travel documents, and proof of health insurance, as well as pay any expenses independently.

Bangladeshi, Malaysian anti-corruption groups call for MoU on recruiting migrant workers to be made public

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and Transparency International Malaysia (TIM) today called for public disclosure of the contents of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on recruitments of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia, reported Malaysia Mail on February 8.

In a joint statement today, the two chapters urged the two governments to take all preventive measures against corruption in the recruitment process including potential syndicated control so that the interests of the workers from Bangladesh and their employers in Malaysia can be protected.

On December 19, 2021, Malaysia’s Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan and Bangladesh’s Expatriates’ and Overseas Welfare Minister Imran Ahmed signed the Bangladeshi workers recruitment agreement, lifting a freeze imposed since September 1, 2018 by the previous Pakatan Harapan government.

Saravanan however had denied the existence of a syndicate and monopoly in the BRAs appointment, saying the MoU is merely a continuation of the previous deals that were suspended.

Ashok Leyland delivers 200 trucks to Bangladesh

Ashok Leyland announced the supply of 200 trucks to the Government of Bangladesh, as part of the project from India under a $2 billion line of credit announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reported India’s NDTV on January 7.

Earlier, Ashok Leyland had won the tender floated by the Bangladesh government for 135 Fully Built Trucks comprising 3T trucks, Hydraulic Beam Lifter, and Sewerage Sucker which have already been handed over from India to the Roads and Highways Department.

Now, the homegrown company has received another lot of 65 units of Truck Mounted Wrecker, a specialized vehicle to be deployed by the Bangladesh government for various highway applications.

In 2018, Ashok Leyland bagged the order to supply 200 buses to the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), supplying Single Decker AC buses which include Intercity AC buses as well as City AC buses.

The buses were manufactured in India and exported to Bangladesh as completely built-up (CBU) units.

BRTC had procured these single-decker AC buses against a tender under the Indian Line of Credit.

The company had also announced opening a new assembly plant in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and entered in a partnership with Bangladesh’s IFAD Autos Limited, with a capacity to roll out 600-800 vehicles each month.

Five Russian nuclear specialists die in Bangladesh during 11 days

Russian news agency Pravda reported on February 8 that in Bangladesh, the police launched an investigation into the death of five Russian citizens, who died one after another in Pabna province over the past eleven days.

All the victims worked at the Rooppur nuclear power plant. The nuclear power plant is still under construction.

The first victim was 48-year-old Alexei Barchenko. He died on January 28 at the medical center near the town of Ishvardi, where he was undergoing treatment.

On February 2, 40-year-old Alexei Shakirov died in his sleep.

On February 5, 48-year-old Pavel Shchukin, who worked as subcontractor’s mechanical engineer, died as a result of a sudden illness — he was undergoing treatment at the same medical facility as Barchenko.

The same day, 59-year-old Vasily Tolmasov died. His body was found at the door of the apartment building, where all the Russians involved in the construction of nuclear power plants lived.

The next day, on February 6, 45-year-old Alexander Vorotnikov was found dead in the same residential complex.

The head of the Ishvardi police station said that the autopsy of the bodies of the victims showed nothing suspicious. It was found that one of the Russians suffered from heart disease, while another one used drugs. However, the investigation will continue.

Representatives for the Russian Federal Agency for Atomic Power, Rosatom, confirmed the information about the death of five Russian specialists. The agency cooperates with the local police to establish the causes that led to their death.