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What the papers say

Hand Weave and Heritage

This week in the Bangladesh English Press trade partners meet in Wellington. Malaysia and Qatar look to recruit from Bangladesh. The economics of growing rice is discussed. And we look at the lost craft of muslin textiles.

A weekly round up of articles about employment, the labour market, skills training and workforce development.This week’s round up is drawn from The Financial Express. Here is the news for the week ending 11th February 2015.

This week in the Bangladesh English Press…

…trade partners meet in Wellington. Malaysia and Qatar look to recruit from Bangladesh.  The economics of growing rice is discussed.  And we look at the lost craft of muslin textiles.

Trade Agreement Moves Forward

Representatives of the twelve member nations were in Wellington, New Zealand last week to sign theTrans Pacific Partnership. The Partnership will support favourable trading terms among its members but still needs to be signed into law by each of the member countries. This process could take years and there are several opponents both within the members and from other countries such as China. At a later stage the partnership could include Bangladesh. But in the mean time there may be implications for Bangladesh’s textile exports.

Balancing Price and Productivity for Rice

In Bangladesh rice yields are higher than in neighbouring countries. This is important because land is in sort supply in this country.

careful agricultural polices are needed to maintain the balance of price and production

But the cost of agricultural inputs to maintain high levels of production are higher than other countries. Because of this farmers are turning to more profitable crops including fruit and vegetables. The editorial says careful agricultural polices are needed to maintain the balance of price and production.

Labour Demand Rises

One and a half million Bangladesh workers could be sent to Malaysia over the next three years. The Cabinet approved a draft memorandum of understanding including a transparent process of recruitment and placement of workers. The draft agreement allows employment in the service, manufacturing, construction and plantation sectors. There are also special provisions for female workers.

Positions include sales executives, doctors, nurses, engineers and office workers

This is a positive development. Arrangements for sending Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia had been stalled for some time. Malaysia stopped recruiting from Bangladesh in 2009 although around 30,000 Bangladeshis went to Malaysia under professional visas in 2015.

The Qatari government is looking to recruit more skilled workers from Bangladesh. Positions include sales executives, doctors, nurses, engineers and office workers. Up to 300,000 Bangladeshis could be recruited over the next two years to work in Qatar. The Bangladesh Minister of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment was reporting after returning recently from Doha.

Rights to our Heritage of Hand Weaving

The famous muslin cloth is no longer produced in Bangladesh. But the Jamdani material survives from this earlier tradition. Bangladesh could benefit from establishing its rights over Jamdani and reviving the muslin tradition.  Representatives from Bangladesh National Museum, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, and UNESCO spoke in support of developing the industry at a meeting in Dhaka this week. This is what Jamdani material looks like.

So that’s the news from The Financial Express for this week.