Romania unhappy as Bangladeshis moving to other countries: Momen

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said Romania is “a bit displeased” as not even 10 per cent of Bangladeshis who recently went to Romania with jobs did not continue their stay in the southeastern European country, reports UNB.

“From Romania, they (Bangladeshis) go to other countries like Germany and Portugal. Why should we allow Bangladeshis to come to Romania if they don’t stay,” he said, quoting the Romanian side, adding that it (Romania) cannot be a “springboard” for going to other countries.

He also described the situation as “something unfortunate.”

While responding to a question at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Momen said Romania sent a consular team upon his request and they issued visas for a good number of Bangladeshis. Some of them went to Romania with jobs in the construction sector.

Last year, a consular team from Romania stayed in Dhaka for three months and issued around 5,400 visas.

As the mission was run successfully,  Momen sent a letter to his Romanian counterpart requesting him to operate another consular mission.

Romania was supposed to issue visas to more than 15,000 Bangladesh citizens from March to September this year.