Minister of State for the Home Office James Brokenshire MP concludes visit to Bangladesh
James Brokenshire, the UK鈥檚 Minister for Immigration, concluded his two day visit to Bangladesh today.
James Brokenshire, the UK鈥檚 Minister for Immigration, concluded his two day visit to Bangladesh today.
During his visit Mr Brokenshire met senior Bangladeshi Ministers including; Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, Law Minister Anisul Huq; and Home Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Khan.
Mr Brokenshire鈥檚 visit demonstrates the UK鈥檚 commitment to work closely with the Bangladeshi Government to address shared issues and threats including tackling illegal migration and organised crime, countering the risk of terrorism and improving aviation security.
A highlight of Mr Brokenshire visit included visiting Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport including discussions with local officials on the forgery detection equipment donated by the UK last year to help combat illegal migration. The equipment is now being used at the airport to detect false and counterfeit travel documents and prosecute criminals trying to use forged documents in order to travel overseas.
Concluding his visit Mr Brokenshire said:
鈥淏angladesh is already an important partner to the UK thanks to our shared history, the UK鈥檚 large Bangladeshi Diaspora and our strong trade links. However we are now working together to make both of our countries safer by prosecuting the organised crime groups involved in illegal migration and human trafficking.
鈥淚 am pleased to hear that the UK鈥檚 donation of forgery equipment is being used so effectively by the immigration officers at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. We hope to see a reduction in human trafficking and illegal migration as a result of this good work.鈥�
Notes to editors
-
James Brokenshire is responsible for immigration policy/legislation, EU, Her Majesty鈥檚 Passport Office, asylum, Border Force, immigration enforcement, individual case decisions, UK Visas and Immigration and extradition and mutual legal assistance (MLA).
-
The UK remains the largest bilateral donor or grant aid to Bangladesh (拢180 million in FY2014/15) delivered through Government, Multilaterals, CSOs and the private sector. Moreover, the UK is an important trading partner. Some 100 UK firms have operations locally with the main centres of operation focused around Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet.