DHAKA: State Minister for Labor and Employment Mujibul Haque, as part of a 5-day study tour to Germany, met with Gerd Müller, the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Bonn on Monday.

Secretary Mahbub Ahmed and other senior officials from the Ministry of Labor and Employment and the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) also were present during the meeting.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) at Dhaka issued a press release in this connection on Tuesday.

It said: “The ministry officials from both the countries discussed social and environmental standards in the garment and textile industry in Bangladesh and joint projects in the context of German development cooperation.”

It added: “They elaborated on various initiatives taken by the Government of Bangladesh after the Rana Plaza building collapse last year, to improve the safety and working conditions of garment workers.”

The delegation from Bangladesh is currently on a study tour organized by the “Promotion of Social and Environmental Standards in the Industry”, a joint project of the governments of Bangladesh and Germany, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of BMZ.

The study tour focuses on the dual vocational system, widely popular in Germany, which combines theoretical and practical training and the objective is to evaluate its adaptability in Bangladesh. 

This week-long mission will continue through June 14 – 20, 2014.

BDST: 2150 HRS, JUN 17, 2014