In the first phase, around 8,000 Bangladeshi workers who were previously stranded will be sent to Malaysia, announced Dr. Lutfor Siddique, the Special Envoy for International Affairs to the Chief Adviser. He shared this information with the media following the opening session of the Bangladesh-Malaysia Joint Working Group meeting held on Wednesday (May 21) at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dhaka.

“These workers had completed all necessary procedures but could not travel due to the sudden closure of the Malaysian labor market last year. They will now be sent quickly under government management through BOESL (Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited),” said Dr. Siddique.

He further mentioned that Malaysia prefers to recruit workers through a limited number of agencies, whereas Bangladesh has a large number of recruiting agencies. Therefore, during the meeting, there will be discussions about possibly amending the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to ensure greater transparency in the process.

Clarifying the situation, he stated, “Malaysia has not imposed any conditions for reopening the labor market, nor have they demanded the withdrawal of cases against those allegedly involved in previous syndicates.”

Dr. Siddique also said that the Malaysian government is seriously considering issuing multiple-entry visas for Bangladeshi workers and is currently discussing the matter in inter-ministerial meetings.

The Malaysian delegation to the joint working group consists of seven members and is led by Dr. M. Shahrin bin Omar, Deputy Secretary-General of the country’s Ministry of Human Resources. The meeting aims to finalize the worker recruitment process from Bangladesh.