Bangladesh and Malaysia have agreed to take their longstanding bilateral relationship to new heights by strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, the labour market, defence, energy, the digital economy and regional affairs.
Malaysia also reaffirmed its support for Bangladesh in joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and strengthening its engagement with ASEAN.
The commitments were set out in a joint statement issued on Monday after a bilateral meeting between the two leaders during Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to Malaysia at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. It is Tarique Rahman’s first foreign trip since taking office last February, and also his first visit to Malaysia as prime minister.
According to the joint statement from the foreign ministry, the two leaders expressed a firm commitment during the visit to take bilateral relations to ‘new heights,’ and witnessed the exchange of several documents aimed at expanding cooperation. Anwar Ibrahim congratulated Tarique Rahman on taking charge as Bangladesh’s prime minister.
He also described it as the beginning of a new chapter of hope for peace, stability and progress for Bangladesh. Reaffirming the commitment to advance discussions on the proposed Malaysia-Bangladesh free trade agreement (MBFTA) was among the most important achievements of the visit. The two countries have set a target of concluding the agreement by 2027, and stressed the importance of increasing two-way trade and investment flows.
Both leaders noted that Bangladesh is Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner in South Asia.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report