Migration and investment issues will be given priority during Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus鈥檚 visit to Malaysia, chief adviser鈥檚 press secretary Shafiqul Alam said on Sunday.
鈥楾he chief adviser is leaving for Malaysia tomorrow on a three-day state visit. This is a very important visit. Many agreements will be signed during this visit. Through this visit, we want to deepen our relations with Malaysia. The main focus of the visit is to talk about immigration, the second focus is investment,鈥� he said.
Alam said these at a press briefing organised on the Chief Adviser鈥檚 Malaysia tour at the Foreign Service Academy.
Nothing that Malaysia is a very important country for Bangladesh鈥檚 manpower sector, he said, 鈥榃e can take our migration to a place where Malaysia takes the maximum number of manpower from us. There will be some discussions on the issue and some agreements will be signed in light of this.鈥�
He said there will be meetings with the CEOs of the big Malaysian companies.
A business conference will be held on August 12, while on August 13, the Chief Adviser will be conferred an honorary degree by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) (the National University of Malaysia), Alam said.
鈥榃e hope that Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim will be present at this event. There will be a bilateral meeting with the Malaysian prime minister on August 12. That is also very important, we hope that the good relations we have with Malaysia will reach a new height,鈥� he said.
Director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shah Asif Rahman said the chief adviser will go to Malaysia on a state visit from August 11 to 13 at the invitation of Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.
A high-level delegation will accompany the chief adviser.
The delegation includes foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain, expatriate welfare and overseas employment adviser Asif Nazrul, power, energy and mineral resources adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan, national security adviser Khalilur Rahman, special envoy to the chief adviser for international affairs Lutfey Siddiqui and BIDA executive chairman Chowdhury Ashiq Bin Harun.
Asif Rahman said on the first day of the visit, the chief adviser will be welcomed with a guard of honour, where Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail will receive him.
A bilateral meeting will be held between the two countries at the Malaysian prime minister鈥檚 office in Putrajaya on August 12. After the meeting, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed between the two countries.
The possible MoUs will be signed on defense cooperation; energy cooperation including LNG and petroleum supply and infrastructure construction; Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) and Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia (ISIS); cooperation between Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) and chip manufacturing company MIMOS; and an agreement between the top business chamber of Bangladesh, FBCCI, and the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce.
An exchange note will be signed on halal ecosystem, Foreign Service Academy of the two countries and cooperation in the areas of higher education sector.
On August 8, 2024, after the formation of an interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim became the first head of government to visit Bangladesh.
Asif Rahman said after the bilateral meeting between the two countries, a press conference and a state lunch will be hosted in honour of the chief adviser.
Professor Yunus is expected to participate in a business forum in the afternoon of the same day and then participate in a meeting with expatriate Bangladeshis, he said.
In the bilateral meeting with the Malaysian Prime Minister, the issues of recruiting new Bangladeshi workers in various sectors of Malaysia, hiring more professionals, and providing facilities to workers will be discussed with importance, he added.
In addition to the labour market, Asif Rahman said the issues of strengthening bilateral trade relations, including agriculture and proper use of the deep sea, will be discussed.
