Energy, investment, manpower, Rohingya issues to top talks

Trade, investment, reopening of labour market, energy and middle-east and Rohingya issues are most likely to dominate the upcoming visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to Malaysia during  21-22, 2026, highly placed sources in Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur said.

Sources said that heads of governments of India, China, Pakistan and Malaysia have invited Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to visit their counties after BNP got a landslide majority in the February 12, 2026 parliament and formed the government on February 17, 2026.

The geopolitical and regional politics and tensions and local and national politics have pursued Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to select Malaysia as his first overseas visit, diplomatic and political sources said.  

Meanwhile, Prime Minister’ Tarique Rahman is also set to visit China in late June, sources in Dhaka and Beijing said.

“The upcoming visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to Malaysia at the invitation of Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim during May 21-22, 2026 will give a new boost to the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Malaysia to a new height, said a high official of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs who will visit Malaysia as member of PM delegation.

The USA-Israel imposed war on Iran has created a global energy crisis putting the global economy in tatters.

The war in the middle-east has compelled the new BNP government to increase energy prices, reduce dependence on Gulf counties and explore new sources of energy. Against this backdrop, the government has been working on increased engagement with Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and    Indonesia in the energy sector, diplomatic sources said.        

 “Migration will surely figure prominently during the talks. Both countries are unlikely to sign a deal on recruitment of Bangladeshi workers during the visit, but talks would have a healthy impact on bilateral human resource management. Dhaka will urge Kuala Lumpur  to give priority in recruiting  Bangladeshi workers  in the coming days,” sources said .

Sources in Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur said that labour recruitment process is most likely to open before and after the national election in Malaysia. Manpower export to Malaysia has been suspended since May 31, 2024, following a deadline set by the Malaysian government. Despite efforts by the previous Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, the market remained closed

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has indicated that he may consider calling an early general election if tensions inside his ruling coalition continue to worsen. Malaysia’s next national election is officially due by February 2028. However, speculation over a snap poll has intensified after government lawmakers suggested elections could take place as early as July. Against this backdrop, the labour market is most likely to open this year if early elections are held or by early next year, diplomatic sources said. Bangladesh may raise the recruitment with skilled and unskilled workers in the Malaysia market as middle-tension has created an uncertainty in the Gulf countries. The USA-Israel imposed war on Iran has hit the overseas employment of Bangladesh  creating an uncertainty in the overseas job market, said a leader of Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA).

As the war situation in the middle–east improves  with the USA and Iran are working on a peace deal, manpower of Bangladesh  has improved in May with the country exported a total of 60,155 workers to different countries clocking 23 per cent growth over the previous month, according to Bureau, Manpower,  Employment and  Training (BMET)      

The government has vowed to break the long-standing syndicate system in Malaysia’s labour market, with Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury declaring a policy of “zero tolerance” against any group seeking to monopolise overseas recruitment.

Meanwhile, the USA-Israel imposed war on Iran has hit the overseas employment of Bangladesh  creating an uncertainty in the overseas job market, said Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA).

During the talks, Bangladesh is likely to discuss various issues related to terrorism, human trafficking, and mutual interests between Dhaka  and Kula Lumpur

During the visit, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman  is also likely to raise the issue of money laundering with Anwar Ibrahim during his short visit and seek his intervention into the matter.

Meanwhile, former Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Shameem Ahsan while talking to this  correspondent said “We have significant trade relations with Malaysia. Our two-way trade is around US$ 4 billion. The trade relationship between Bangladesh and Malaysia remains strong, though it has faced challenges due to the recent unrest in Bangladesh. However, the long-standing partnership, supported by Malaysia’s demand for Bangladeshi products and Bangladesh’s dependence on Malaysian imports like palm oil and machinery, provides a solid foundation for recovery. Both countries have mutual interests in maintaining and expanding this economic relationship.

Economic diplomacy and ongoing negotiations to explore new avenues for bilateral cooperation also help offset some of the temporary disruptions caused by the unrest. It is notable that, during the January-June, 2024 period the bilateral trade between the two countries was USD 1.53 billion.

Malaysia is currently the 8th largest investor to Bangladesh. A total of 386 Malaysian companies are registered and doing business smoothly in Bangladesh. The total FDI stock of Malaysia in Bangladesh is 856.23 million US$ [December 2023] Bangladesh has further room for Malaysian investors to forge mutually beneficial economic ventures. We have been urging potential investors to invest more in Bangladesh, particularly in the 100 Economic Zones.  Malaysia can also build a dedicated country-specific “Economic Zone” like China, Japan, South Korea and India to take advantage of Bangladesh’s geo-economic position between China, India, and ASEAN.