Bangladesh–Libya relations

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Bangladesh-Libya relations
Map indicating locations of Bangladesh and Libya

Bangladesh

Libya

Bangladesh–Libya relations refer to the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Libya.

History[edit]

Libya is part of the Maghreb region. The 14th century traveller, Ibn Battuta, mentioned in his book of the presence of Maghrebis in Bengal during this time, mostly as merchants. He speaks of a certain Muhammad al-Masmudi, who lived there with his wife and servant.[1]

During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, Libyan F-5s were deployed to Sargodha Airbase, perhaps as a potential training unit to prepare Pakistani pilots.[2] Gaddafi personally directed a strongly worded letter to Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, an ally of the Bangladeshi Mukti Bahini, accusing her of aggression against Pakistan.[3]

Modern relations[edit]

Bangladesh has a resident ambassador in Libya.[4] Libya has a resident embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh.[5] In October 2011 the government of Bangladesh recognized the Libyan National Transitional Council.[6] Bangladesh embassy was attacked in Tripoli in February 2017.[7] In May 2020, 26 Bangladeshi migrants were murdered by human traffickers in the Mizdah massacre.[8]

Economic relations[edit]

Since 1974 Libya has been recruiting migrant workers from Bangladesh.[9] Bangladesh signed an agreement to send 1 million workers to Libya in 2009.[10] In May 2015 Libya banned migrant workers from Bangladesh over concerns that they were illegally migrating to Europe through Libya.[11] There was an estimated 37 thousand strong Bangladeshi community in Libya as of September 2015.[12] By April 2017 the number had fallen to 20 thousand.[13] In May 2017 Bangladesh became the single largest source of migrants to Europe through Libya.[14][15] Khalifa Haftar of Libya's National Army banned the arrival of Bangladeshis and 5 other nationals in 2017.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ibn Battutah. The Rehla of Ibn Battutah (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-12-29. Retrieved 2019-12-23. Muhammad al-Masmudi, the Maghrebi ... an old inhabitant of the place (Bengal)... he had a wife and a servant
  2. ^ Bowman, Martin (2016). Cold War Jet Combat: Air-to-Air Jet Fighter Operations 1950–1972. Pen and Sword. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-4738-7463-3.
  3. ^ Nazar Abbas (August 26, 2011). "Gaddafi is gone, long live Libya". THe News International. Archived from the original on 9 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Bangladesh envoy to Libya presents credentials". The Daily Star. 5 October 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Libyan embassy refutes media allegations". The Daily Star. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Bangladesh recognises Libya NTC". The Daily Star. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Shots fired at Bangladesh embassy in Tripoli". The Daily Star. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  8. ^ "EU condemns killing of 30 immigrants in Libya, urges for swift justice | The Libya Observer". www.libyaobserver.ly. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  9. ^ "Bangladeshis can't send remittance from Libya". New Age. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Business team leaves for Libya". The Daily Star. 8 April 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Libya bans Bangladesh workers". The Daily Star. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Expats in Libya in grave crisis". The Daily Star. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Fortune seekers trapped in Libya". The Daily Star. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  14. ^ "Bangladesh single biggest country of origin for refugees to Europe". The Daily Star. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  15. ^ "The new refugee route emerging to Europe". The Independent. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  16. ^ "A Libyan leader jumps on Trump's 'Muslim Ban'". TRT World (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.