Sweden envoy discusses social welfare, gender issues with Zahid

Social Welfare, Women and Children Affairs Minister AZM Zahid Hossain said on Monday that the Swedish experience and technical support could be of high utility for Bangladesh’s social welfare with an extra focus on gender issues as the Swedish envoy in Dhaka met him.

“The experiences and technological support of a country like Sweden could be of high importance in our journey (for social development),” an official statement quoted him as saying as Ambassador Nicolas Weeks called on him at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

It said during the meeting both sides discussed bilateral issues, including ways to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the areas of social welfare, women and child development, gender equality, social protection and humanitarian assistance.

Zahid expressed his gratitude to Sweden for its continued support to various development projects and social development programmes in Bangladesh.

The minister told the envoy that the present government placed special priority on empowering women and children, ensuring inclusion of persons with disabilities and improving the livelihoods of marginalised communities as part of its electoral promises.

He told the ambassador that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s Universal Family Card was expected to be a landmark initiative for the benefit of the ordinary people throughout Bangladesh.

He noted that in the first phase, 37,814 family cards were distributed in Dhaka, followed by 911 cards in Bogura in the second phase, primarily targeting women as household heads.

Under this programme, beneficiary families will receive a monthly allowance of Tk2,500, which will be given directly to recipients through mobile wallets or banks.

The minister said the government was implementing food programmes as well to meet the nutritional needs of primary school students while it declared zero tolerance against violence against women and children. 

He said initiatives like increased daycare centers up to upazila levels, co-curricular education through children’s academies and providing training in foreign languages, caregiving and outsourcing for youth employment were also underway.

The ambassador praised Bangladesh’s social welfare initiatives and reaffirmed Sweden’s commitment to deepen its long-standing friendly relations with Bangladesh. 

Weeks highlighted potential areas of cooperation which included prevention of gender-based violence, child nutrition and education and humanitarian assistance for climate-vulnerable populations.

The ambassador also assured continued technical support, training and financial assistance to help Bangladesh achieve its social development goals.

According to the statement, the Rohingya refugee crisis also featured their talks alongside women entrepreneurship development, child rights and education, inclusive programmes for persons with disabilities and sustainable social development initiatives.

Zahid sought Sweden’s cooperation in implementing Bangladesh’s “Integrated Social Welfare Model” by leveraging Swedish expertise.

Senior ministry officials and representatives from the Swedish embassy were present at the meeting.