The Maldives and Bangladesh are preparing a bilateral agreement to return Bangladeshi inmates, the home ministry said.
According to a Maldives home ministry media representative, a bilateral deal to repatriate certain Bangladeshi inmates is being negotiated, but their release would be conditional. He stated that one of the terms would be to serve the remainder of their sentences in Bangladesh.
Rear Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to the Maldives, told the media on Saturday that there are about 100 Bangladeshi citizens jailed in the Maldives on various charges, adding that efforts are being made to repatriate some of them.
The high commissioner also indicated that there are around 100,000 Bangladeshi nationals working in the Maldives, with half of them staying illegally. He stated that many of them have lost their employment and that the Bangladesh High Commission has been working to ameliorate their situation.
He further said that the Bangladeshi prime minister’s upcoming visit will prioritize bilateral ties, the regularization of unregistered Bangladeshi employees, and economic issues.
