STAR REPORT

Malaysia is set to reopen its labour market for Bangladeshis, with both sides moving to resume recruitment through a more transparent and lower-cost process, Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson and Adviser on Overseas Employment Mahdi Amin said yesterday.

Briefing reporters at the Secretariat, Mahdi said he, along with Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, travelled to Malaysia to discuss how to reopen the labour market as it remained closed for nearly two years.

He said the delegation held talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who listened to Bangladesh’s position with sincerity in the presence of representatives from several Malaysian ministries.

Mahdi said Bangladesh sought Malaysia’s cooperation in reopening the market, and the Malaysian prime minister directed the relevant authorities to take steps to resume manpower exports as quickly as possible.

The discussions also focused on making the migration process more transparent and reducing costs for workers heading to Malaysia, he said.

Mahdi said Malaysia has a special plan to introduce an artificial intelligence-based platform through which it intends to recruit workers not only from Bangladesh but from countries around the world.