report in Prothom Alo, Nov 20, 2023
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen has said the United States might slap sanctions but the government will stick to its course of work.
“They are a nation with sanctions, they can impose it, they are rich… but we will keep up our course of work as per the reality,” he told the media at his ministry on Sunday, responding to a query about possible US actions.
Earlier, a parliamentary delegation of Scotland held a meeting with the foreign minister at the ministry.
US president Joe Biden has recently signed a memorandum on advancing worker empowerment, rights, and high labour standards globally on Thursday, citing possible actions, including sanctions, in cases of labour rights violation.
Asked about labour rights, he said, “We cannot be like America in a day. The people who they employed think that Bangladesh will turn America in a single day.”
The minister also noted that it took 250 years for the US to reach its current position. The US labourers were slaves once upon a time and it continued for an extended period.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the US labourers used to earn 20 cents in exchange for 18 hours of work.
“We know the development story of America and how their labourers endured torture. But the workers here are in a far better condition in comparison with the US. The per capita income is $65,000 in the US, but it is $2,800 in our country. From this point of view, our labours are in a far better condition,” he noted.
Asked if there is any impending US sanctions, he siad “I have no idea as it is the other country’s jurisdiction.”
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/government/bj0a72xdpk
