DHAKA: Bangladesh has been re-elected as a deputy member of the governing body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) from the Asia-Pacific region for the 2021-2024 term. The election was held online in Geneva during the ongoing 109th International Labor Conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka said in a statement on Monday.

It said Bangladesh secured the first position among the candidates of the Asia-Pacific region by bagging the highest 210 votes..

Since the announcement of the bid, the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh in Geneva was strongly engaged in election campaign in order to seek support from other ILO member states in favour of Dhaka's candidature, it said.

The efforts bore fruit as Bangladesh was re-elected to serve for three more years as a deputy member, the Ministry added. A Bangladesh delegation, led by Begum Monnujan Sufian, state minister for labour and employment, virtually attended the ongoing ILC. The delegation included KM Abdus Salam, labour secretary, and Md Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh ambassador and permanent representative in Geneva.

This is the third consecutive victory for Bangladesh in the ILO governing body. Earlier, Bangladesh served as a deputy member for the 2014-2017 and 2017-2021 terms.

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