PM’s Malaysia visit: Dhaka to push RCEP bid, investment, labour market cooperation

Bangladesh will strongly place its desire to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest trade bloc, as Prime Minister Tarique Rahman begins his twin visit to Malaysia and China, starting with engagements in Southeast Asian country Malaysia focused on broader cooperation in trade, investment, energy, and the labour market.

“Bangladesh’s bid to become a ‘Sectoral Dialogue Partner’ of Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] and join the ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’ will be strongly highlighted,” Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during a media briefing.

Additional Foreign Secretary (Public Diplomacy and Other Priority Matters) AKM Shahidul Karim and other senior ministry officials were present at the media briefing.

Besides, the Foreign Secretary said, a strong call will be made to Asean member states including Malaysia to play a more active and effective role in the repatriation of forcibly displaced Myanmar citizens – the Rohingyas, he said.

Sectoral dialogue partnership offers Bangladesh a realistic and impactful pathway for engagement, a senior official told UNB, noting that Bangladesh has redoubled its efforts to achieve the status of Sectoral Dialogue Partner (SDP) with Asean.

The Prime Minister will pay an official visit to Malaysia on 21-22 June at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim paid an official brief visit to Bangladesh on 4 October 2024, at the invitation of former interim government Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.

During his visit, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will lead a high-level delegation from Bangladesh that includes Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury, Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon and other senior government officials.

On the first day of the visit, the Prime Minister will be welcomed in Malaysia with a formal reception.

The next day (22 June), a private meeting will be held between the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and Malaysia at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya.

Immediately after the tête-à-tête (a private conversation between two persons), a bilateral meeting will be held between the high-level delegations led by the heads of government of both countries where bilateral issues of mutual interest will be discussed.

Discussions will be held on establishing greater cooperation between the two countries in various fields including trade and investment expansion, energy cooperation, the halal economy, the semiconductor industry, agriculture, education, and people-to-people contact.

In particular, the issues of recruiting new Bangladeshi workers in various sectors in Malaysia, recruiting more professionals, ensuring facilities and benefits for workers and developing the skills of Bangladeshi workers will be discussed with importance.

During this visit, one Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cultural cooperation is expected to be signed, said the Foreign Secretary.

In addition, a Terms of Reference is likely to be exchanged with Malaysia to initiate negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Some other documents related to bilateral cooperation are under discussion. The Prime Ministers of the two countries will be present at the signing ceremony of the bilateral cooperation documents.

There is also a possibility of a meeting between the Prime Minister and potential investors in Malaysia.

The two Prime Ministers will hold a joint press conference, and the Prime Minister of Malaysia will host a luncheon in honour of his Bangladeshi counterpart.

“We believe that this visit will play a very important role in elevating the existing bilateral and economic relations with Malaysia to a new level,” said the Foreign Secretary, noting that Dhaka is hopeful the visit will further strengthen bilateral relations based on mutual respect, trust, and cooperation between the two brotherly countries.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to leave for Kuala Lumpur tomorrow afternoon (21 June) and, from Kuala Lumpur, will leave for China on Monday afternoon (22 June).

The Foreign Secretary indicated that the delegation sizes for the Prime Minister’s visits to Malaysia and China have been kept relatively small, comprising 27 and 28 members respectively. “We tried to keep it at a logical level,” he said.