Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman today said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's recent visit to Malaysia has elevated bilateral relations to a new level, marked by close personal communication between the two prime ministers and major progress in trade, labour and strategic cooperation.
Malaysia willingly agreed to put the negotiations on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Bangladesh on the fast track, Dr. Rahman told a media briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while highlighting the outcomes of the prime minister's just-concluded visits to Malaysia and China.
Fast-Tracked FTA Negotiations
Dr. Rahman said that Bangladesh and Malaysia expressed commitment to conclude a mutually beneficial, comprehensive and future-oriented FTA by 2027. The foreign minister said the prime minister's engagements in Kuala Lumpur underscored Bangladesh's growing importance to Malaysia.
Memorandum of Understanding and Ministerial Notes
In the presence of the two prime ministers, Bangladesh and Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cultural cooperation and exchanged two ministerial-level notes on enhancing cooperation in counter-terrorism capacity building and investment promotion.
Labour Cooperation and Worker Employment
The foreign minister said both countries welcomed progress towards establishing the Malaysia-Bangladesh Joint Business Council and discussed strengthening business-to-business engagement, regular dialogue and investment cooperation between their private sectors. Dr. Khalilur said the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to safe, regular and transparent labour migration.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim assured the employment of 8,000 Bangladeshi workers, while both countries agreed to resume the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers, facilitate the deployment of skilled manpower, regularise undocumented workers, ensure the welfare and security of migrant workers and reduce recruitment costs.
Rohingya Crisis and ASEAN Engagement
On the Rohingya issue, the foreign minister said Malaysia assured Bangladesh of its active role in supporting a sustainable solution to the crisis and the early repatriation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals. He said Malaysia reaffirmed its commitment to advancing the issue through the ASEAN framework and expressed interest in engaging directly with Myanmar to facilitate progress.
Investment and Business Partnerships
Dr. Khalilur said Malaysia also reiterated its support for Bangladesh's bid to become an ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner and expressed a positive outlook towards strengthening Bangladesh's engagement with the regional bloc. He added that Malaysia expressed strong interest in expanding investment and business partnerships with Bangladesh in priority sectors, including energy, digital infrastructure, telecommunications, electric vehicles, technology transfer, ports and logistics.
