Bangladesh and Malaysia have agreed to pursue a free trade agreement by 2027 and deepen cooperation across a sweeping range of sectors, as Prime Minister Tarique Rahman wrapped up his first official bilateral visit to a foreign country since taking office in February.
The Bangladesh premier held comprehensive talks with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim at the Perdana Putra Building in Putrajaya on Monday, with the two leaders issuing a joint statement pledging closer engagement in trade, investment, labour, defence, energy, digital technology and regional diplomacy.
The visit yielded concrete outcomes on several fronts. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to advancing negotiations on the Malaysia-Bangladesh Free Trade Agreement (MBFTA), with the stated aim of concluding the deal by 2027.
Bangladesh remains Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner in South Asia, a standing both governments said they were determined to build on.
“We are moving toward economic liberalisation through the signing of free trade agreements and pursuing deregulation policies,” said Mahdi Amin, the Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson, speaking at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, adds BSS.
“The main objective is to attract investment from different parts of the world. From our perspective, Malaysia is one of the key targets.”
The two governments also welcomed progress on establishing a Malaysia-Bangladesh Joint Business Council, designed to serve as a structured forum for private-sector dialogue and investment identification.
Priority sectors earmarked for enhanced collaboration include telecommunications, energy, infrastructure, ports and logistics, the halal industry, agro-processing, higher education, the digital economy, semiconductors and smart manufacturing.
