Malaysia opens labour market for Bangladesh: PM's adviser

After a long closure, the Malaysian labour market is reopening for Bangladeshis, said Prime Minister's Adviser Mahdi Amin.

The decision was made during a meeting between Expatriate Welfare Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur, he said.

Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury and Adviser Mahdi Amin visited Malaysia last Wednesday to discuss the labour market. This is the first visit to discuss the labour market after the new government took office.

A bilateral meeting on labourer migration between the two countries was held in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Thursday. The Malaysian delegation was led by the country's Human Resources Minister Dato' Sri Ramanon Ramakrishnan and the Bangladeshi delegation was led by Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury. In the meeting, both sides agreed to quickly open the labour market for Bangladeshi workers based on Malaysia's sector-specific needs and to ensure a fair, ethical and transparent recruitment process. These include reducing middlemen and migration costs, using qualified recruitment agencies, and facilitating the rapid recruitment of stranded workers.

Later, Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at his office. At the beginning of the meeting, Anwar Ibrahim congratulated Tarique Rahman on being elected as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and invited him to visit Malaysia at a convenient time.

The meeting discussed Malaysia's initiative to launch an AI-based technology-driven recruitment system. The aim is to reduce middlemen and migration costs and ensure that employers bear the full cost as per the International Labor Organization (ILO) guidelines. Bangladesh expressed its full support for the implementation of this digital platform.

The meeting also discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, including cooperation in the education sector, teacher exchange and skills development.