Jumbangla Desk: The non-resident ambassador of Austria, Katharina Wieser, met with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at his office in Tejgaon, Dhaka.

In the meeting, Ambassador Weiser said that Western European countries want to strengthen economic relations with Bangladesh. As part of this, Austrian companies are also interested in investing in Bangladesh.

Katharina Weiser is based in New Delhi, but also serves as Ambassador to Bangladesh. In a meeting with the chief adviser on Monday, he said that the Austrian government will support the interim government in the reform work in Bangladesh.

The Chief Adviser said that Bangladesh will decide the date of the polls only after the reforms are implemented and the voter list is ready.

The ambassador said several Austrian companies are interested in investing in Bangladesh, including one that wants to set up a technical school on the outskirts of Dhaka. But they need some cooperation from Bangladesh authorities to get small loans from Austrian financial institutions, he said.

Professor Yunus immediately asked the concerned ministry officials to look into the matter.

The meeting discussed Bangladesh's counter-terrorism measures, cross-border issues, human trafficking, legal immigration, climate change, reform of the Bangladesh Police Force and law and order situation in the country.

Ambassador Wieser said Austria has a long-standing policy of legal process immigration. He also mentioned that Bangladeshis are the sixth largest immigrant community among the rich countries of Western Europe.

The chief adviser said, Austria should arrange for the immigration of more Bangladeshis through the legal process. This will stop human trafficking from Bangladesh.

The meeting was attended by Senior Secretary and Chief Coordinator of SDG Affairs Lamia Morshed and Honorary Consul of Austria Tasbirul Islam.- Bass