Malaysia has agreed to reopen its labour market for Bangladeshi workers and reduce migration costs.
The assurance came during a bilateral meeting on labour migration held in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday between the governments of Bangladesh and Malaysia, said a press release.
Both sides agreed to accelerate the process of reopening Malaysia’s labour market for Bangladeshi workers based on sector-specific demand and to ensure a fair, ethical and transparent recruitment system.
Bangladesh’s minister for labour and employment and expatriates’ welfare Ariful Haque Chowdhury along with prime minister’s adviser Mahdi Amin went to Malaysia on Wednesday to discuss the labour market issues.
Ariful met Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim at his office in Putrajaya. At the meeting, Ibrahim congratulated his Bangladeshi counterpart Tarique Rahman and invited him to visit Malaysia at a convenient time.
According to the press release, Ibrahim praised Bangladesh’s long struggle for democracy and its continued progress. Both the sides held detailed discussions on labour relations and reaffirmed their commitment to preventing worker exploitation by ensuring a transparent, accountable and effective recruitment system.
The two sides further discussed opportunities to deepen people-to-people ties through academic exchanges, institutional collaboration and cooperation in the education sector. Both the parties expressed satisfaction with the positive trajectory of bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation across various sectors.
The Malaysian delegation was led by human resources minister Datuk Seri Ramanan Ramakrishnan.
In a joint statement following the meeting, both countries reaffirmed their long-standing and mutually beneficial partnership in labour migration and expressed commitment to strengthening cooperation through a transparent, inclusive and practical framework. This framework aims to address the existing recruitment challenges while ensuring safe, orderly and regular migration.
Both the sides agreed to accelerate the reopening of Malaysia’s labour market for Bangladeshi workers based on sectoral demand and to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process by addressing structural barriers to reduce intermediary involvement and migration costs, engaging credible and qualified recruitment agencies and expediting the deployment of stranded workers.
The joint statement also noted Malaysia’s plan to introduce a technology-driven, AI-based recruitment system applicable to all source countries. The initiative aims to minimise intermediaries, reduce migration costs and ensure that employers bear the full cost of recruitment, in line with International Labour Organization guidelines under the principle that ‘the employer pays,’ ultimately resulting in zero cost for the workers.
Bangladesh expressed full support and readiness to cooperate in implementing such a digital platform as a global initiative involving all labour-sending countries.
The statement further noted that both sides discussed concerns regarding ongoing legal cases related to human trafficking in labour recruitment. Malaysia emphasised the need to address any baseless or malicious activities that could harm its international reputation, while Bangladesh reaffirmed its commitment to the rule of law, due process, accountability and timely justice.
Both the sides also exchanged views on addressing challenges faced by irregular workers and improving alignment between labour supply and market demand through skills development, training, certification and information exchange.
