Bangladesh and Malaysia have agreed to elevate bilateral cooperation across trade, labour, energy, defence and the digital economy, as Prime Minister Tarique Rahman held his first official foreign visit since taking office, meeting Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim in Putrajaya on Monday.

The two leaders, who held formal bilateral talks at the Perdana Putra Complex, expressed strong commitment to advancing relations and witnessed the exchange of several bilateral documents.

On the economic front, both sides welcomed progress toward launching negotiations on a Malaysia-Bangladesh Free Trade Agreement, with a target of concluding the deal by 2027.

They also welcomed the establishment of a Malaysia-Bangladesh Joint Business Council (JBC) to facilitate structured private-sector engagement between the two countries.

Bangladesh remains Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner in South Asia. The leaders identified telecommunications, energy, infrastructure, ports and logistics, the halal industry, semiconductors and the digital economy as priority sectors for deeper collaboration.

On labour, a long-sensitive issue, both sides agreed to convene a Joint Working Group (JWG) to review the existing MoU and lay groundwork for a new, updated agreement governing the migration of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia.

Both governments reaffirmed that recruitment must be transparent, fair and handled only through credible agencies.

On the Rohingya crisis, Malaysia commended Bangladesh’s humanitarian role in hosting displaced persons and reiterated support for their safe and dignified repatriation to Myanmar.

Anwar Ibrahim expressed Malaysia’s readiness to back Bangladesh’s bid for ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner status and endorsed Dhaka’s aspiration to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.