United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh and Malaysia held bilateral talks in Putrajaya on Monday with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim leading their respective sides. A wide range of issues, covering ICT, energy, infrastructure, manpower, halal industry, agro-processing, education, skills development, defence, digital economy, semiconductors and other high-value sectors, were discussed at the meeting held at Perdana Putra, the office of the Malaysian Prime Minister. The Rohingya crisis and regional cooperation also came up for discussion. After the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cultural cooperation was signed in the presence of the prime ministers of the two countries. In addition, a document on cooperation in research and capacity building in counter-terrorism and a bilateral investment-related document were exchanged. The foreign ministers of the two countries exchanged the documents. Later, Tarique Rahman and Anwar Ibrahim spoke at a joint press conference. The Bangladesh delegation included Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury, State Minister for Power and Energy Aninda Islam Amit, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir, Finance and Planning Affairs Adviser Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Education Adviser Mahdi Amin, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam and other senior officials. Following the press conference, Tarique Rahman, his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and members of the Bangladesh delegation will attend a state luncheon hosted by Anwar Ibrahim at his official residence, Seri Perdana Complex. Renowned Malaysian artistes are expected to perform cultural programmes during the luncheon, including songs in both Bangla and Malay, reflecting the close friendship between the two nations.