A three-member European Union delegation will be visiting Bangladesh from November 15-17 to assess the progress of Bangladesh's labour sector reforms.
The delegation will be led by EU External Service Action Service's Deputy Managing Director (Asia Pacific Division) Paola Pampaloni.
The delegation is expected to meet top officials of the foreign affairs, commerce and labour ministries as well as the labour leaders, a foreign ministry official said.
The delegation's visit comes against the backdrop of RMG workers' recent demonstrations of pay hikes amid the sharp rise in essential commodities. Besides, political violence has also gripped the country since October 28 ahead of the national elections.
The EU is the largest export market for Bangladesh and has been providing duty-free access to its market. The EU has also helped improve the safety of workplace of the RMG sector since the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013.
It has also extended the GSP facility to Bangladesh until 2029 that goes beyond the LDC graduation year of 2026.
After 2029, the GSP facility will not be there, but EU has another scheme for duty-free market access, which is GSP Plus. Bangladesh will have to go through additional and stricter conditions, including the improvement of human rights, democracy, environment and labour rights, to avail the facility, EU officials said earlier.
