The matters were discussed in a meeting with Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Mohammad Shuhada Osman at the Secretariat on Sunday (August 30). State Minister for Local Government Mir Shah Alam was present at the meeting.

The High Commissioner expressed satisfaction over the success of Bangladesh Prime Minister's recent visit to Malaysia. Later, various aspects of bilateral relations between the two countries were discussed.

During the discussion, importance was given to exporting manpower from Bangladesh to Malaysia, registering undocumented workers, and increasing employment opportunities for Bangladeshi engineers. Besides, discussions were held on construction of hospitals through joint initiatives, enhancing higher education opportunities for Bangladeshi students, investment in renewable energy sector, and cooperation in producing sports goods.

In addition, discussions were held on further strengthening the economic relations between the two countries in various fields including import of electric vehicles, construction sector, and halal food.

After the meeting, State Minister for Local Government Mir Shah Alam told journalists that Malaysia has expressed interest in recruiting about 200,000 workers from Bangladesh in the next six months. He also said that around 10,000 of them may get the opportunity to go without any cost.

The State Minister said that there are currently about 800,000 registered Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia. Besides sending new workers, the process of registering undocumented Bangladeshi workers staying in the country is also underway. This activity may begin at the end of next September.

At the meeting, both sides expressed interest in transforming the long-standing friendly relations between Bangladesh and Malaysia into a more effective economic partnership.

Senior officials of the ministry, including Secretary of the Local Government Division Md. Shahidul Hasan, were present at the meeting.