Bangladesh chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and Malaysian prime minister Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim in a bilateral meeting at the Malaysian PM office complex Perdana Putra in Putrajaya city on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to transform Bangladesh–Malaysia relations into a ‘deeper, future-oriented strategic partnership’.
In the delegation-level talks, Bangladesh called upon the Malaysian authorities to recruit more skilled Bangladeshi professionals, including doctors and engineers, and regularise those Bangladeshi workers who became irregular or undocumented in the Southeast Asian country that has suspended hiring workers from Bangladesh since June 2024, according to officials concerned.
‘Our two countries share a deep bond rooted in history, religion, and cultural empathy. Malaysia is a unique partner of Bangladesh, particularly in human resources, trade, and people-to-people contacts,’ Professor Yunus said at the outset of the delegation-level talks.
Describing Professor Yunus as ‘a friend of Malaysia’, Anwar commended Bangladesh interim government’s leadership over the past year, said a press release of the Chief Adviser’s Office issued from Putrajaya.
The two leaders witnessed the signing of five memorandums of understanding covering defence cooperation, LNG supply and energy collaboration, cooperation between the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies and the Institute of Strategic and International Studies of Malaysia, collaboration between the Bangladesh–Malaysia Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems and cooperation between the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the National Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Malaysia.
They also exchanged notes on diplomatic training, Halal industry collaboration, and higher education cooperation after the bilateral talks.
Addressing a joint press conference after the high-level talks, Yunus expressed optimism that more Bangladeshis would get job opportunities in the Malaysian labour market.
‘We hope that this door will remain open for Bangladesh and more young people from Bangladesh will get the opportunity to work here,’ the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangthsa reported quoting the chief adviser as saying. Â
He also urged Malaysian businessmen to invest in Bangladesh to help the country become a manufacturing hub.Â
The CA sought Malaysia’s cooperation for resolving the Rohingya crisis and obtaining the ASEAN membership.
Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim on the other hand hoped that the excellent relations between the two countries would be helpful in improving the fate of the people of both countries.
Malaysian officials confirmed that Bangladeshi workers would now be entitled to the same social security benefits as Malaysian workers and will be able to lodge complaints in the Bangla language.
Bangladesh also requested ‘Graduate Pass’ visas for its students in Malaysian universities. Currently, around 10,000 Bangladeshi students are studying in Malaysia, where around 15 lakh migrant workers from Bangladesh are staying and are mostly engaged in farms, factories and restaurants.
Both sides underscored the importance of transparent and fair recruitment processes to reduce costs and safeguard worker welfare.
The two leaders first held a one-on-one meeting, preceded by a restricted session with select senior officials.
Later, they led delegation-level talks covering a wide range of bilateral issues, including trade, investment, migration, energy cooperation, the blue economy, education, and cultural exchange, according to the release shared by the CA’s press wing.
The Malaysian prime minister underscored the need for boosting trade and expanding cooperation in migrant worker welfare, education, and efforts to resolve the Rohingya crisis as Bangladesh was hosting more than 12 lakh forcibly displaced people from Myanmar.
During the one-on-one meeting, Professor Yunus thanked Malaysia for facilitating the entry of nearly 8,000 stranded Bangladeshi workers under a simplified protocol and for introducing multiple-entry visas, allowing workers to return home during emergencies without risking their jobs.
At the delegation-level talks, adviser for law and overseas employment ministries Asif Nazrul urged Malaysia to recruit more skilled Bangladeshi professionals, including doctors and engineers, through a government-to-government framework.
He noted that state-run Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited was now capable of handling recruitment for Malaysian companies and called for opportunities for Bangladeshi security guards and carers.
He also requested steps to be taken for the regularisation of irregular or undocumented Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.
The leaders discussed Bangladesh’s aspiration to deepen its engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including its bid for Sectoral Dialogue Partner status, and sought Malaysia’s support during its ASEAN chairmanship.
Yunus also invited Malaysia to participate in the upcoming Conference on the Rohingya Crisis in Cox’s Bazar and the UN-led international conference on the Rohingya issue in New York in September.Â
On economic matters, the two sides agreed to accelerate negotiations on a Bangladesh–Malaysia Free Trade Agreement, strengthen investment cooperation through Special Economic Zones, and operationalise the Malaysia–Bangladesh Joint Business Council.
Highlighting the growing trade imbalance between the two friendly countries, Dhaka sought greater Malaysian market access for Bangladeshi products such as medicines, batteries, footwear, ceramics and jute.
Bangladesh also sought Malaysia’s support in developing its ‘blue economy’ and ‘halal industry’, including establishing a Halal Economic Zone outside Dhaka, and expressed interest in joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Both countries agreed to explore renewable energy partnerships and also discussed collaboration in defence, culture, and tourism.
Prime minister Anwar expressed his admiration for poet Rabindranath Tagore and proposed a cultural conference on prominent Asian writers and thinkers.
Chief adviser Yunus is accompanied by foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain, expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment adviser Asif Nazrul, energy adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan, national security adviser Khalilur Rahman, chief adviser’s special envoy on international affairs Lutfey Siddiqi, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority executive chair Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, and foreign secretary Asad Alam Siam during his three-day official visit to Malaysia to be concluded today.Â
In October 2024, Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim after a bilateral meeting in Dhaka announced that they had agreed to consider issuing 18,000 work visas for those Bangladeshis who got stuck and could not fly due to some recent measures by the Malaysia government.
Around 50,000 Bangladeshi aspirants failed to migrate to Malaysia after completing almost all the processes by the May 31 deadline set by the Malaysian authorities.
Of them,16,970 aspirant migrants failed to fly to Malaysia at the last moment only because they could not secure air tickets.
In September 2018, Malaysia suspended hiring workers from Bangladesh amid huge allegations of corruption.
Later, in August 2022, the market reopened for Bangladeshi workers and remained open until May 31, 2024.
