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Reassuring decent working conditions, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday said his government will give immediate attention to the fresh entry of 18,000 Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia in the first phase subject to all conditions are met.
“We have discussed the whole system. And we have gone through very transparent procedures. We need workers but they can’t be treated as modern slaves no matter if they are from Bangladesh or other countries. I said this publicly in the past like now,” he said while responding to a question from UNB during a joint press appearance with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.
The Malaysian Prime Minister, however, reminded Bangladesh to remain careful and distinguish things urging not to defend criminal actions by anyone – either Malaysians or foreigners in Malaysia.
Chief Adviser Prof Yunus expressed his gratitude to the Malaysian Prime Minister on behalf of all the people in the country for making this announcement on the worker issue.
An estimated 800,000 Bangladeshis now live and work in Malaysia. Of them, about 450,000 migrated between August 2022 and May this year.
Chief Adviser Prof Yunus and the Malaysian Prime Minister had a brief one-on-one meeting at the Hazrat Shahjalal Airport before their bilateral talks at Hotel InterContinental.
Prof Yunus said he was ‘very happy’ to welcome his old friend in Dhaka as they have known each other for over four decades.
Yunus spoke briefly on the student-led revolution, the sacrifice the students and people made and the carnage committed by the previous government.
The chief adviser also spoke about his long association with Malaysian universities and its leaders.
They boarded the same car to travel to the bilateral venue—in an expression of their close friendship.
During the bilateral meeting, they discussed three core areas – political, trade and investment.
The issues of mutual interest, including economic, political, trade and investment, education, technology and human resource development, manpower export, higher education cooperation, communications, infrastructure development, and defense cooperation were also highlighted.
Malaysia is going to be the next chair of Asean from January 2025, and the Rohingya issue was also discussed.
In addition, the issue of Bangladesh to become a ‘Sectoral Dialogue Partner’ in Asean in terms of regional cooperation was specially raised.
“This visit is very important in terms of bilateral relations and this visit is expected to be considered as an expression of deepening bilateral relations and enduring friendship between Bangladesh and Malaysia,” said Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain.
The Malaysian Prime Minister laid emphasis on ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ and addressing the issues of Malaysian companies in Bangladesh and Bangladeshi companies in Malaysia in a faster manner.
He said they do not compromise with corruption, governance and economic fundamentals.
The Malaysian PM also said the joint commission meeting can be held as soon as possible.
He was accorded a red carpet reception on his arrival here on a very short official trip to take the relations between the two countries to a new height.
The Malaysian prime minister, who is leading a 58-member delegation, landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 2pm.
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus received him amid a gun salute and guard of honour.
After almost a decade, a Malaysian prime minister is visiting Bangladesh, and this official visit is the first by any head of government to Bangladesh since the formation of the interim government on August 8.
He was directly taken to Hotel InterContinental from the airport where he spent a couple of hours.
Prof Yunus also hosted high tea in honour of the Malaysian prime minister.
The Malaysian PM also met President Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban, a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told UNB. He signed the visitor’s book there.
Malaysia is the 8th largest investor in Bangladesh. Malaysian companies, including several owned by its sovereign funds, have invested more than $5 billion in Bangladesh and are now willing to invest more, including in education.
The Malaysian prime minister was scheduled to leave Dhaka at 6:25pm.