Serbia has shown interest in recruiting skilled and semi-skilled workers from Bangladeshi as the economy of the Balkan country shows signs of recovery.
The Serbian Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Affairs Dr Darija Kisic Tepavcevic said this recently when non-resident Ambassador of Bangladesh to Serbia Md Shameem Ahsan met her in Belgrade.
Acknowledging the historic bonds between Dhaka and Belgrade and the huge potential to strengthen bilateral relations, especially in the field of labour and employment, both of them discussed signing agreements in this regard.
According to the National Employment Agency of Serbia, a total of 30 work permits have been issued for Bangladeshi workers.
Fourteen Bangladeshi workers have already joined Serbian energy company BEDEM.
Ambassador Ahsan has visited the office and interacted with the top managers and the employees. The Bangladeshi workers there expressed satisfaction about the working conditions and the pay packages offered to them.
The ambassador was told about the deep interest of the Serbian companies in hiring skilled and semi-skilled workers from Bangladesh through legal channels.
Ambassador Ahsan was in Belgrade to present credentials to the Serbian president on September 6.
ASM Sayem, counsellor at the Embassy of Bangladesh to Serbia, was present during the above meetings, along with senior officials from the Serbian side.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of Serbia rose 1.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021, after declining 1.1% in the previous quarter. Its GDP had shrunk by 1% last year.
Serbia's government expects economic growth to accelerate to between 12% and 15% in the second quarter of 2021, Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said recently.
Economic growth of Serbia in the second quarter of 2021 was backed by the third package of economic support measures worth $2.66 billion, provided by the government to facilitate the recovery from the coronavirus crisis, the Serbian Finance Ministry quoted Mali as saying in a statement.
"We paid three times half of the minimum wage to employees in the private sector, and about 1.2 million workers received that help. For the first time, we paid 60 Euros to the unemployed, i.e., those who were on the records of the National Employment Service. The state paid 30 euro to 5.7 million citizens, as well as 3,000 dinars to those who were vaccinated," Mali said.
The GDP per capita in Serbia was last recorded at $7,197.46 in 2020, which is equivalent to 57% of the world's average, according to the World Bank.
Serbia has been negotiating with the European Commission to become a member of the European Union since 2009.
