Expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment adviser Professor Asif Nazrul on Thursday sought expanded employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers in South Korea, praising Seoul’s EPS and Seasonal Worker schemes while urging diversification into agriculture, livestock, caregiving and service sectors to strengthen manpower co-operation.
Speaking at a reception at South Korean embassy in Dhaka marking the National Foundation Day of the Republic of Korea, the adviser said Bangladesh highly values Korea’s role as a trusted partner in investment, employment and development.
Nazrul noted that more than 38,000 Bangladeshis have already worked in Korea under various arrangements and proposed several measures to deepen labour collaboration, including extending worker re-entry periods up to 10-12 years, lengthening EPS profile validity from two to five years, and launching joint digital monitoring of worker welfare.
He also suggested systematic submission of EPS profiles instead of the existing random ratio method to ensure fairness, and called for pilot recruitment programmes in Korea’s caregiving and service sectors.
Highlighting Korea’s strong presence in Bangladesh’s electronics, infrastructure, energy and ICT sectors, the adviser welcomed greater Korean investment in green technology, renewable energy and smart industry.
Nazrul said the Korean seasonal worker programme has already created valuable opportunities for rural Bangladeshi youth and strengthened people-to-people ties.
He conveyed Bangladesh’s warmest greetings to the government and people of Korea and reaffirmed Dhaka’s commitment to a future anchored in ‘trust, innovation and sustainable progress.’
South Korean ambassador Park Young-sik also spoke at the event, praising the longstanding friendship between the two countries and expressing readiness to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment and labour mobility.
