Kamal urges Malaysia to take more manpower from Bangladesh

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today urged the Malaysian government to take more manpower from Bangladesh.

The minister made the call today in a meeting with Malaysia's Deputy Finance Minister Tuan Mohd Shahar bin Abdullah on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila.

He said Bangladesh is grateful for the Malaysian government's decision to open up employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers in all sectors.

On the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Malaysia, Kamal said, "We are also very pleased with the signing of an MoU on LNG import from Malaysia."

This deal will pave the way for further commercial or economic engagement between the two friendly countries, he said.

Kamal said Malaysia is an important source of Bangladesh's foreign direct investment (FDI).

As of September, $788 million FDI came from Malaysia to Bangladesh, mainly in the telecom sector, he said, urging Malaysia to invest more in Bangladesh.

The minister said the bilateral trade with Malaysia is growing and Bangladesh's export to Malaysia was $306 million and import from Malaysia was $1.57 billion in FY 2020-21.

He also thanked the Malaysian government for providing half a million (559,200) doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines to Bangladesh last year.

Steps will be taken on manpower export and LNG import after having discussion with the relevant ministries, the Malaysian deputy finance minister said.

Bangladesh is a rising star, Abdullah said.

He also highly appreciated the diplomatic relations Bangladesh has with Malaysia and expressed hope that this relationship will strengthen by the day.

Meanwhile, Kamal also held a meeting with the finance minister of Bhutan and discussed bilateral issues.