Let Bangladeshi workers return to Malaysia
Dhaka has requested Kuala Lumpur to allow the Bangladeshi migrants, who got stranded after coming here on leave due to the pandemic, to return to their workplaces in Malaysia.
It also sought to widen cooperation on trade and investment with the Southeast Asian country.
The calls were made when newly appointed Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Hazanah Md Hasim called on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam at the foreign ministry on Thursday.
Malaysia is home to around a million Bangladeshis. The annual trade volume between the two countries is about $2.4 billion with Bangladesh exporting products to Malaysia worth $260 billion.
Shahriar congratulated the new Malaysian envoy on her appointment and said the two countries have huge opportunities to widen trade and investment. The potential areas of cooperation include sectors like science-technology, healthcare, education, trade, tourism, energy etc.
He suggested that Malaysia might consider widening its tariff concession for greater market access of Bangladeshi products.
The state minister said Malaysia is Bangladesh's trusted friend and partner with which Bangladesh enjoys strong bilateral relations since its independence. A considerable number of Bangladeshi workers and professionals are living in Malaysia and contributing immensely to the economies of both the countries.
Shahriar requested the high commissioner to extend all kinds of cooperation to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment and find a solution to the current migrant issue.
In reply, Hazanah Md Hasim assuring him of taking the issue of the stranded Bangladeshi workers and students to her higher authorities and hoped that it would be resolved soon.
The state minister noted that Malaysia is an advanced economy and a development hub in the Asia Pacific region and is doing remarkably well amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Referring to the recalibration programme for regularisation and voluntary repatriation of migrant workers, Shahriar expressed gratitude to the Malaysian government for standing beside the Bangladeshi expatriates during the pandemic.
He also thanked Malaysia for its strong political and humanitarian support in favour of the Rohingyas and sought a pro-active role from both ASEAN and Malaysia for safe and sustainable repatriation of the refugees to Myanmar.
Shahriar appreciated Malaysia's establishment of a field hospital in Cox's Bazar dedicated to treatment of the Rohingyas.
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