Malaysia assures Bangladesh of resuming worker recruitment: Khalilur

Malaysia has assured Bangladesh that it will resume the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers and regularise undocumented Bangladeshi migrants currently living in the country, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference at the Secretariat after Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's visits to Malaysia and China, the minister said Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had conveyed the assurances during the bilateral engagements.

He also said Malaysia pledged continued support for resolving the Rohingya crisis and reaffirmed its backing for Bangladesh's inclusion as an ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cultural cooperation in the presence of the two prime ministers and exchanged two ministerial notes on strengthening counter-terrorism capacity and expanding investment.

Khalilur said both sides agreed to resume the long-suspended bilateral consultations between their foreign ministries and to begin negotiations on a Bangladesh-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with the goal of concluding a comprehensive and mutually beneficial deal by 2027.

The two countries also welcomed progress towards establishing the Bangladesh-Malaysia Joint Business Council to strengthen business-to-business engagement, trade and investment cooperation.

On labour cooperation, the minister said, “Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring safe, orderly and transparent migration. Malaysia assured Bangladesh that it will resume the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers, facilitate the deployment of skilled workers and regularise undocumented Bangladeshi migrants. Prime Minister Anwar also assured that around 8,000 Bangladeshi workers awaiting deployment will be able to join their jobs.”

Both sides also agreed to work towards ensuring the welfare and safety of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia and reducing recruitment costs. They further agreed to review the existing labour MoU through the Joint Working Group (JWG) and update it in line with current requirements.

On the Rohingya issue, Khalilur said Malaysia has pledged to play a more active role in seeking a sustainable solution and expediting the repatriation of the displaced people through the ASEAN framework.

He said Malaysia also expressed interest in engaging directly with Myanmar to help advance the repatriation process.

Referring to the warm ties between the two countries, Khalilur said the depth of bilateral relations was reflected in the Malaysian prime minister's sharing of the Bangladeshi song “Moha Jadu” during the visit.

He added that Malaysia has also expressed strong interest in expanding investment and business partnerships in priority sectors, including energy, digital infrastructure, telecommunications, electric vehicles, technology transfer, ports and logistics.