Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, at the 114th session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva, I had bilateral meetings with Ministers of Labour and Employment of several countries, namely India, Nepal, Madagascar, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Rwanda, Ghana, and Botswana. The discussion with labour Ministers of countries who send workers to Mauritius generally centred around collaboration between our countries to promote the ethical recruitment of workers, and in particular, to ensure that foreign workers are not exploited and do not have to pay any fees regarding their recruitment. Discussion also covered the rights of migrant workers and access to social protection. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to the bilateral meeting I had with the Minister of Labour from Bangladesh, I explained to him the situation of Bangladeshi workers in Mauritius. I informed him that in 2023, the previous government had put a stop on the issue of work permits to new Bangladeshi workers because of the high number of Bangladeshi workers who left their employment to work illegally. I explained to him that following the report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on work permit issues, Government had in September 2025 agreed to the resumption of recruitment of workers from Bangladesh in the bakery, textile, printing, press sector and other scarcity areas. I, however, pointed out that the number of Bangladeshi workers who are missing and have left their job to work illegally for other employers are unacceptably high. The Minister of Bangladesh informed me that in order to ensure the ethical recruitment of workers from Bangladesh, it was necessary to eliminate the middlemen in Bangladesh and he recommended that henceforth, all recruitment be done through the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training and the Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited, which are Bangladeshi regulatory authorities facilitating labour migration and overseas employment in Bangladesh. The workers will be screened tested before coming to Mauritius, and this will avoid the risk of them leaving their employers to take up employment elsewhere illegally. We agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in that respect. A draft MOU has already been worked out and is presently under review. The MOU will be forwarded by my Ministry to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade for onward transmission to the Bangladeshi authorities for their consideration, following which approval of Government will be sought for its signing by both countries. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me be very clear. It is not the policy of Government to favour the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers at the expense of workers from any other nationality. Recruitment of foreign workers is strictly demand driven and I would like to point out that back in November 2024, when I assumed office as Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations, there were already 10,672 Bangladeshi workers in Mauritius. Today, there are currently 8,975 Bangladeshi worker, which is actually less than when I took office.

Yes.

Yes, thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. Can the hon. Minister either tell us or Table to the Assembly the list of scarcity areas where currently work permits are being allocated to Bangladeshi nationals?

Yes.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, actually, the list is worked out by the HRDC, the Human Resource Development Council. We have the list of scarcity areas sector-based. So, the list is available on their on their website, but I can communicate a list to my learned friend.

Yes.

Yes, thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. In a reply to a PQ put by hon. Ms Joanna Bérenger in this House, the hon. Minister had stated that 80% of missing foreign workers in Mauritius are Bangladeshi nationals. My question therefore, pending the resolution of this long-standing, worsening social issue and the rising number of crimes involving Bangladeshi nationals, will the hon. Minister consider simply ban or freeze the allocation of new work permits to Bangladeshi nationals?

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the decision to resume the recruitment of workers from Bangladesh was taken by Cabinet and it is only Cabinet who can override this decision. But I would like to reassure the hon. Member that Bangladesh is one of several countries that falls under the 11th schedule of the passport regulation and anyone who comes from those countries require enhanced security clearances from the Prime Minister's Office. So, before any work permit is issued to any worker from Bangladesh, it has to clear the necessary security screening at the level of the Prime Minister's Office.

The hon. Third Member for Port Louis South and Port Louis Central. STATE LAND – SHOOTING & FISHING/ ECO TOURISM – LEASES