EU praises Dhaka’s commitment to ILO standards

Bangladesh's determination to meet its commitment to abide by International Labour Organization (ILO) standards has been warmly praised by the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) trade committee, according to the EU Reporter.

Founded in 2002, EU Reporter is a Brussels-based news website publishing content relating to the European Union.

They were impressed both by the progress to date and an openness about the challenges ahead, exemplified by a candid exchange of views with the country's ambassador to the European Union, it said.

Like parliamentarians the world over, the MEPs sometimes have to battle with evasive and unhelpful individuals to find out what they need to know.

So members of the trade committee were quick to acknowledge that their discussion with Bangladesh Ambassador Mahbub Hassan Saleh was like a breath of fresh air.

From across the political spectrum, they spoke of a strong and transparent relationship. "Other countries are much harder," observed Svenja Hahn one of the MEPs.

"I welcome the fact that Bangladesh is open enough to share its problems with us," added Maximilian Krah from the Identity and Democracy group, said EU Reporter.

He also described Bangladesh as a success story. In March it completed full ratification of the ILO convention on labour standards, setting a minimum working age of 14 years.

The committee's socialist chair, Bernd Lange, said there was a lot still to do "but we are on track".