PM to leave for Kuala Lumpur Tuesday

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will embark on an official visit to Malaysia on Tuesday to take relations with the major Bangladeshi labour export destination to a new high.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 30 Nov 2014, 02:44 PM
Updated : 30 Nov 2014, 06:34 PM

The tour, first after her return to power for the second successive term, comes just over a year after her counterpart Najib Razak was in Dhaka.

File Photo

Razak unveiled the plaque of Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Memorial KPJ Specialised Hospital and Nursing College in Gazipur in November last year.
Signing of a protocol on the existing manpower recruitment MoU is being seen as a crucial engagement during Hasina’s visit.
It is expected to allow entry of at least 12,000 Bangladeshi workers to the Sarawak state.
The visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders from both sides and two MoUs on tourism and cultural co-operations are also expected to be signed during her three-day visit, senior officials at the foreign ministry have told bdnews24.com.
The prime minister also speak at a dialogue on trade and investment where the major investors will be present, apart from bilateral talks with her counterpart.
Bangladesh is Malaysia’s third largest trading partner in South Asia after India and Pakistan.
But Malaysia, which aims to be a developed nation by 2020, a year before Bangladesh wishes to be a middle income country, dominates heavily in the two-way trade.
Bangladesh exports only $135 million worth of clothes and knitwear products in the more than $2 billion two-way trade. It imports mostly palm oil and animal products.
But Malaysia is one of Bangladesh’s major manpower destinations.
The government sends worker in the plantation sector through its own mechanism and expects to open the door for sending manpower for the service and construction sectors.
At least 103 companies are currently investing in Bangladesh mostly in service and engineering sector.
The government will try to lure them into the infrastructure, energy and telecommunication sectors, among others.
Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali will brief the media on Monday about the visit.