Port Louis, December 12: Bangladesh has urged Mauritius to resume its labour market as the Indian Ocean island nation is set to post a robust growth this year.

Bangladesh High Commissioner  Zokey Ahad said this when he paid a courtesy call on  Labour and Industries Minister of  Mauritius Muhammad Reza Cassam Uteem at the latter’s office in Port Louis on Thursday.

Bangladesh manpower export to Mauritius suffered a heavy blow this year as the country only exported seven workers in 2024, according to the data of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).

Bangladesh exported a total of 78,390 workers to Mauritius during the period of 1992-2024.. The country exported a total of 1,201 workers in 2023 and 5,484 workers in 2022.

Greeting the Bangladesh high commissioner at his office, the labour and industries minister of Mauritius expressed  deep satisfaction over the excellent bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Mauritius.

The minister showed his keen interest to visit Bangladesh to meet his counterpart and officials of BOESL (Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited) and BMET (Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training) to explore the labour market in Mauritius.

The two sides exchanged views on developing Bangladesh-Mauritius relations and deepening exchanges and cooperation between the labour and employment related issues of the two countries.

Jahangir Alam, First Secretary (Political) and  Md Asaduzzaman First Secretary (Labour) of the High Commission, also attended the meeting.

The Labour Minister promised to work with Bangladesh High Commission closely to finalize the pending MoUs

Bangladesh High Commissioner  Ahad conveyed his deep gratitude to the Mauritius government  that aided the residents of Mauritius, including Bangladeshi expatriates, during the pandemic. He promised  to strengthen the existing friendly relations between the two countries and promote bilateral relations and cooperation to a new level.

They discussed issues of mutual interest including exchanges of high-level visits and labour recruiting issues, remittance etc. While discussing labour issues the High Commissioner of Bangladesh emphasised on the importance of recruiting more skilled and unskilled manpower from Bangladesh and sending remittance.

Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island nation, is known for its beaches, lagoons and reefs. The mountainous interior includes Black River Gorges National Park, with rainforests, waterfalls, hiking trails and wildlife like the flying fox. Capital Port Louis has sites such as the Champs de Mars horse track, Eureka plantation house and 18th-century Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens.

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Mauritius was last recorded at 11318.60 US dollars in 2023. The GDP per Capita in Mauritius is equivalent to 90 percent of the world's average. GDP per Capita in Mauritius averaged 5929.39 USD from 1976 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 11318.60 USD in 2023 and a record low of 2327.60 USD in 1980.