Marrakech – President Mohammed Shahabuddin of Bangladesh has called on Morocco to hire more Bangladeshi skilled and semi-skilled workers. The appeal came during a credential ceremony for Morocco’s newly appointed Ambassador to Bangladesh, Lalla Boutina El Kerdoudi El Koulali, at Bangabhaban on June 9.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), Shahabuddin specifically identified healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure development, ready-made garments, textiles, and information and communication technology as target sectors.
“Both Bangladesh and Morocco remain immense potentials for expanding trade and investment relations,” the president said, as relayed by his press secretary, Sarwar Alam.
Shahabuddin stressed the importance of exchanging high-level government and private-sector trade and investment delegations. He described the existing bilateral relationship as “very excellent and steadily growing stronger.”
The president also recalled the 1981 visit of former Bangladeshi President Ziaur Rahman to Morocco. He expressed gratitude to the Moroccan people for naming a road in Rabat after the late leader. During the meeting, Shahabuddin briefed the new ambassador on his government’s human resource development programs and Bangladesh’s recent achievements in the sector.
The credential ceremony followed a broader diplomatic push. On May 19, Bangladeshi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam met Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in Rabat. The two sides agreed to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, skills development, and multilateral affairs.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Bangladesh is keen to deepen its engagement with African nations and elevate its partnership with Morocco to a new horizon of cooperation, shared prosperity, and strategic opportunity,” Obaed told Bourita.
She also held separate meetings with Morocco’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, and Minister of Economic Inclusion, Younes Sekkouri, during which both sides discussed prospects for a free trade agreement, the exchange of business delegations, and cooperation in vocational training and artificial intelligence.
During the same visit, Obaed inaugurated the first-ever Bangladesh-Morocco bilateral business-to-business platform in Rabat, bringing together around 30 Moroccan business leaders and a seven-member Bangladeshi delegation. A high-level Moroccan business delegation is expected to visit Bangladesh in November.
The appeal comes as Bangladesh aggressively pursues new overseas labor markets. The country has signed memoranda of understanding with 18 nations on worker deployment, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Romania, Seychelles, and Portugal, while actively negotiating expanded access with Malaysia, Oman, the UAE, and Bahrain.
Its government has set a target of sending approximately 1.4 million workers abroad in the next fiscal year, according to recent parliamentary disclosures. Under the Skills for Industry Competitiveness and Innovation Program (SICIP), some 220,000 Bangladeshis are receiving market-driven training in medium- to high-level skills.
On the diplomatic front, Shahabuddin thanked Morocco for its support at international forums regarding the repatriation of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to their homeland. He expressed hope that such backing would continue.
Ambassador El Koulali, for her part, sought the president’s cooperation in carrying out her duties in Bangladesh. She was accorded a guard of honor by a horse-driven contingent of the President Guard Regiment (PGR) upon her arrival at Bangabhaban. Senior foreign ministry officials attended the ceremony.
Morocco and Bangladesh established formal diplomatic ties in the early 1970s. Morocco recognized Bangladesh as an independent nation on July 13, 1973. Morocco opened its embassy in Dhaka on December 11, 1988. Bangladesh followed with its own embassy in Rabat on August 28, 1990.
Both nations are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Group of 77, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the United Nations. Historical ties between the two regions date back to the 14th century, when Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta visited Bengal and documented a community of Maghrebi merchants living there.
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