PM set to embark on maiden overseas tour with Malaysia visit Sunday

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is set to embark on his first foreign tour since assuming office four months ago, travelling to Malaysia and China on a six-day visit aimed at strengthening economic ties, boosting investment, expanding labour market opportunities and deepening strategic cooperation.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to leave Dhaka on Sunday afternoon for Kuala Lumpur on a two-day official visit to Malaysia before heading to China, where he will attend the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum (WEF), commonly known as the "Summer Davos", and hold a series of high-level bilateral meetings.

According to the proposed schedule, he will depart from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 2:45pm on a special Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight for Kuala Lumpur. He will be accompanied by his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman among the entourage.

The Prime Minister is expected to return to Dhaka on June 26, concluding his first overseas tour as the head of government.

Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam unveiled the details of the visit at a press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.

Officials said Bangladesh's interest in expanding access to the Malaysian labour market remains the top priority of the Kuala Lumpur visit.

Officials said Bangladesh will strongly pursue Malaysia's support for its bid to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world's largest trade bloc, during the visit, while also focusing on expanding cooperation in trade, investment, energy and labour market access.

“Bangladesh's bid to become a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be strongly highlighted,” the foreign secretary told the press conference.

The Prime Minister will pay the official visit to Malaysia on June 21-22 at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

The Malaysian Prime Minister paid an official brief visit to Bangladesh on October 4, 2024, at the invitation of former interim government Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.

During his visit, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will lead a high-level delegation from Bangladesh that includes Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir, and Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury, Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon and other senior government officials.

On the first day of the visit, Tarique Rahman will be welcomed in Malaysia with a formal reception.

The next day (June 22), a private meeting will be held between the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and Malaysia at the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya.

Immediately after the tête-à-tête, a bilateral meeting will be held between the high-level delegations, led by the heads of government of both countries, where issues of mutual interest will be discussed.

Discussions will be held on establishing greater cooperation between the two countries in various fields, including trade and investment expansion, energy cooperation, the halal economy, the semiconductor industry, agriculture, education, and people-to-people contact.

In particular, the issues of recruiting new Bangladeshi workers in various sectors in Malaysia, hiring more professionals, ensuring facilities and benefits for workers and developing the skills of Bangladeshi workers will be discussed with importance.

During this visit, one Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cultural cooperation is expected to be signed, said the foreign secretary.

In addition, a Terms of Reference is likely to be exchanged with Malaysia to initiate negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Some other documents related to bilateral cooperation are under discussion. The Prime Ministers of the two countries will be present at the signing ceremony of the bilateral cooperation documents.

There is also the possibility of a meeting between the Bangladesh Prime Minister and potential investors in Malaysia.

The two Prime Ministers will hold a joint press conference, and the Prime Minister of Malaysia will host a luncheon in honour of his Bangladeshi counterpart.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to leave Kuala Lumpur on Monday afternoon for China’s Dalian.

The foreign secretary indicated that the delegation sizes for the Prime Minister's visits to Malaysia and China have been kept relatively small.

He said Bangladesh and China are expected to sign 15-17 bilateral instruments during Tarique Rahman’s China visit.

These may include 13 MoUs, two agreements, one action plan, and one protocol.

There will be a discussion regarding the Teesta project, Siam said.

The Prime Minister is going to China at the invitation of Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

During the visit, he will attend the WEF’s 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, which will be held in the port city of Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province from June 23 to 25.

More than 1,700 participants from over 90 countries and regions will attend the meeting.

This year's meeting, themed "Innovating at Scale," will feature discussions on topics, including the next phase of China's economic trajectory and how to translate technological advances into real economic benefits.

Apart from the Prime Minister’s bilateral meeting with the Chinese Premier on June 25, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 26.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to return home on June 26 night.