Manpower migration to Malaysia to resume by late August

Malaysia has reopened its labour market to Bangladeshi workers following a series of bilateral meetings between the two countries, Prime Minister's Adviser Dr Mahdi Amin said on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference at the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Amin said the two countries have set a target of resuming the deployment of Bangladeshi workers from the last week of August, according to a press release.

He said meetings between the relevant ministries and authorities of Bangladesh and Malaysia had produced positive outcomes. According to him, the two sides have reached a policy-level consensus on the measures required to reopen the labour market, and implementation of those decisions is now under way.

"If all preparations are completed as planned, we aim to begin sending Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia from the last week of August," he said.

Dr Amin said the government is working to ensure a transparent, orderly and worker-friendly migration system. He added that the new recruitment process will place emphasis on maintaining transparency and keeping migration costs at a reasonable level.

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury was also present at the press conference. He said Bangladesh and Malaysia are working together to further strengthen cooperation on labour market issues and that the necessary institutional processes will be completed swiftly.

During the briefing, the adviser and the minister outlined the outcomes of their visit to Malaysia, the results of the bilateral meetings, and the next steps for implementing the labour market arrangements.