Bangladesh's export basket is heavily dependent on apparel products. How can Italy help with diversification?
We have significant trade (two-way trade volume over $2.2 billion) with Italy, the sixth largest export destination of our exports, with RMG being the largest export item.
Italy can also help Bangladesh diversify its export baskets. They can import items like leather and leather goods, bicycle, ceramics, ICT, jute and jute products from Bangladesh, among others.
The export of readymade garments, leather, shrimp, and software has suffered last year.
Our exports are now growing despite recent challenges posed by the pandemic. During July-March 2021-22, export to Italy was 12% higher than the target and 22% higher than the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Can Italy help Bangladesh in recovery of exports in the current situation?
Both Italy and Bangladesh can identify the comparative advantage of the exportable items and negotiate further for mutual benefit; and the relevant government and trade bodies are currently doing so.
MV Songa Cheetah, the first direct container ship in the Bangladesh-Italy route, has been operational between Chittagong and its Italian counterpart, the port of Ravenna.
It departed from Chittagong on February 7 earlier this year and reached Ravenna on February 27 with 952 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of export goods.
This new arrangement is expected to reduce transportation costs by 45-50% as the shipping time will be reduced from 45 days to 15 days.
The new maritime route has been established at the initiative of Italian garments importers while coordinated efforts of Italian freight forwarder company, RIF Line and its sister concern, Calipso Compania De Navigation also contributed in this regard.
The Bangladesh embassy is working closely with the relevant companies to make the arrangement more efficient, frequent, thus facilitating expansion of bilateral trade between the two countries.
What is our target to reach bilateral trade within the next five years?
Overall national target of Bangladesh for FY22 is $4.35 billion.
For Italy, this target is $1.4 billion.
We are hopeful that we can fulfill the target. In the next five years, our target might be $2 billion.
How many Bangladeshis are living in Italy? How do Italian citizens and the government evaluate their contributions to their country?
According to our information, around 150,000 Bangladeshis live in Italy.
Many of them are engaged in different activities including in the hospitality sector, business/informal trade and other fields.
The Italian government has been very warm and generous to our community who enjoy a high reputation for being extremely hard-working, peace-loving and law-abiding with the least criminal records.
During meetings with the officials of the Italian government, they are usually highly appreciative of our community.
In fact, they acknowledge with deep appreciation that the Bangladeshis living in Italy are contributing greatly to the buoyancy of the economy of Italy.
However, there is deep concern from them regarding the issue of uninterrupted illegal migration from Bangladesh to Italy and both the countries are currently working closely to devise a legal mechanism for migration and mobility and minimize illegal migration.
Another point of disappointment on the Italian side is that many of our community members, especially female members, are not keen to learn Italian language and cultures which are important for integration.
The mission takes every opportunity to sensitize our diaspora in this regard.
Under the blue card policy, the EU has agreed to recruit non-EU citizens. Can EU member countries recruit more skilled Bangladeshi manpower, especially doctors, engineers, and nurses?
Responses to the policy by most of the EU states are not satisfactory.
Though many of the European countries are welfare states and require many skilled and semi-skilled workforces, only 37,000 Blue cards have been issued by the member countries till 2019 as per statistics.
Among them, only Germany issued 28,858 cards as per above source.
Italy’s position is not significant (418 cards issued so far).
Amid the Covid-19 recovery, job opportunities are going to open up in Italy and it seems that the unemployment rate is in a decreasing trend.
I think there is still much scope for the Bangladeshi skilled workforce to come here under Blue Card policy with other non-EU citizens.
Considering the aging society of EU countries, Blue Card policy has been a well-designed way out for these countries to allow skilled and talented migrant workers to contribute to their economy.
It is regarded as a key element of the new pact on migration and asylum that will allow the EU countries to normalize the migration policy as well as keep their economy moving.
Bangladeshi skilled human resources may be the beneficiaries of this newly adopted policy.
Bangladesh is currently negotiating with the Italian government regarding signing an agreement on migration and mobility which will pave the way for the skilled workforce/professionals, among others, of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is one of the beneficiary countries of the Flussi Decree (Decreto Flussi) of Italy which stipulates jobs for the non-EU workers.
Though not significant in numbers allocated for each country including Bangladesh, this decree was not available for the last eight years for Bangladesh apparently due to non-returning of the people who came as seasonal workers.
According to reports, Italy has repatriated several thousands of unregistered citizens. How many Bangladeshis have been regularized by the Italian government?
This is a regular process to repatriate the undocumented population.
Traditionally, Italian governments as well as the society have been found extremely friendly and lenient to the undocumented foreign immigrants including our nationals.
There are around 146,000 documented Bangladeshi nationals in Italy as per statistics of the Italian authorities.
The Italian government declared amnesty on a number of occasions which benefitted our undocumented nationals.
In early 2000, around 70,000 Bangladeshis were documented under the amnesty. Recently in 2020, 12,746 Bangladeshis applied for regularization.
The Russia-Ukraine war has caused a price hike of essential goods increasing the sufferings of poor and low-ingroup consumers. How do you see the situation?
This is a crisis of people, a crisis of cost of living because it is affecting food, finance and fuel.
Almost all developing countries including Bangladesh are suffering in these three dimensions.
We need to be very careful and vigilant to keep the trade open so that there is no disruption of the supply chain.
High inflation may slow down the growth of the Italian economy. Do you think Bangladesh's exports, particularly readymade garments and leather to Italy will suffer?
No, it will not suffer.
There is no such evidence so far in the previous months, rather our exports are growing in Italy.
Our private sector leadership in RMG and leather sectors in particular, is mature enough and capable to face any crisis.
