Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury and US Ambassador Brent T Christensen held a courtesy meeting at the Secretariat in Dhaka on Wednesday morning, where they discussed issues of mutual interest between the two countries.
The minister expressed gratitude to the United States for its continued cooperation in developing Bangladesh’s labour sector.
He said “US support would remain important in further strengthening Bangladesh’s image abroad.”
“There are many opportunities for joint work between the two countries in improving the labour sector and ensuring workers’ rights” he added.
Ariful Haque also said the Labour Law (Amendment) 2026 has been passed in Parliament in line with the United States’ 11-point labour standards.
The US ambassador thanked Bangladesh for amending the labour law. He expressed satisfaction that the 11-point proposals from the United States and ILO conventions have been included in the Labour Law (Amendment) 2026.
The ambassador said “Effective implementation of the law is crucial for executing trade and other agreements between the two countries.”
He stressed the importance of issuing necessary rules and regulations to bring the law into force quickly.
In response, the minister assured that the rules will be issued promptly to ensure implementation. He also requested US technical assistance in raising awareness among workers on labour rights and ensuring safe and decent working conditions.
The ambassador also thanked the Ministry of Labour and Employment for simplifying and modernising the trade union registration process and for the initiative to adjust workers’ wages every three years.
He expressed hope that long-standing relations between Bangladesh and the United States would be further strengthened in the future.
The meeting was attended by Labour and Employment Ministry Secretary Abdur Rahman Tarafder, Joint Secretary Abdus Samad Al Azad, US Embassy Counsellor Eric Gillan and Labour Attaché Leena Khan.
