The Maldives will recruit workers from Bangladesh by creating a solid framework under an agreement, said visiting Foreign Minister of the Maldives Abdulla Shahid yesterday.

"Today we'll be signing two memoranda. The memorandum of understanding on the placement of human resources between the two countries to provide a solid framework for the recruitment of human resources from Bangladesh," he said at a joint press briefing after bilateral talks at state guesthouse Padma.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and his counterpart led their delegations during the talks.

The second MoU is on cooperation between the Foreign Service Institute of the Maldives and the Foreign Service Academy of Bangladesh over the training development of foreign service officers of the two countries, he said.

Shahid said the Maldives put emphasis on regularisation of undocumented Bangladeshi workers to ensure their basic rights in his country.

"I conveyed the important role played by Bangladeshi workers in [the] Maldives and the need to regularise the undocumented workers for protecting their basic rights and wellbeing," he said.

ROHINGYA ISSUE

Shahid reiterated the support of the Maldives to Bangladesh on the issue of Rohingya refugees.

"[The] Maldives always advocated for the rights of the Rohingya people and together with the government of [The] Gambia, we seek the accountability for the acts of genocide committed against the Rohingya people," he said.

RECOGNITION

Abdulla also recognised with gratitude Bangladesh's significant contributions to a variety of fields, including training and scholarship, health and medicine, defence and other technical areas.

The president of the Maldives has already declared that all the workers, including foreigners, will get free vaccination in his country. "We'll send some nurses to help carry out vaccination in the Maldives, particularly for the large Bangladeshi community staying there," he said.

Some 80,000 Bangladeshi expatriates are currently working in the Maldives.

PRESIDENT'S VISIT

Momen said Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih will visit Dhaka to attend Mujib Borsho functions and Bangladesh's Independence Day.

He said during the meeting, they discussed several issues, including extension of trade and business, enhancing connectivity, particularly shipping and climate.

He added that they also talked about national, regional and international matters.

"We had good discussions in cordial atmosphere. We've agreed on many issues. Hope, we'll have better days," said Momen.

The foreign minister of the Maldives arrived here on Monday on an official visit to Bangladesh at the invitation of his Bangladeshi counterpart Momen.