Expatriates’ welfare minister to leave for Malaysia tonight

Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury is scheduled to visit Malaysia tonight (27 July) to hold discussions on reopening the country’s labour market for Bangladeshi workers, ministry sources confirmed to The Business Standard.

Although the government has not officially announced details of the visit, officials said the discussions will focus on resuming the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers. It will be the minister’s third visit to Malaysia since assuming office.

The visit comes as the government has stepped up bilateral negotiations to restore access to one of Bangladesh’s largest overseas labour markets, which has remained closed since June 2024.

Meanwhile, migrant rights organisation Migrant Welfare Network (MWN) has expressed concern over what it described as the government’s “silent diplomacy” on the Malaysia labour market issue.

In a statement, MWN said the public learned about the planned visit through media reports, while various sources indicate that Malaysia’s relevant minister is expected to visit Bangladesh on 4 August.

“Despite the significance of these diplomatic initiatives, the government has yet to provide any official explanation,” the organisation said.

MWN questioned why negotiations over the labour market were being conducted without public disclosure, arguing that the issue directly affects the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi migrant workers and the country’s economy.

“The public has the right to know about any discussion, understanding or decision regarding the labour market,” the statement said.

The labour market issue also featured prominently during Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s recent visit to Malaysia, where both countries agreed to review the existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers, raising hopes that manpower exports to the Southeast Asian country could resume.