Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ariful Haque Choudhury. -File photo

SANGSAD BHABAN, Sept 3, 2026 (BSS) - The government is working to reopen Malaysia's labour market for Bangladeshi workers, and the way for sending workers to the country will be paved very soon, Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ariful Haque Choudhury told the parliament today.

Replying to a scripted question from ruling party lawmaker Md. Mostafizur Rahman Babul (Jamalpur-3), the minister said Malaysia remains one of the major labour markets for Bangladeshi workers.

He said the government has taken bilateral and diplomatic initiatives to reopen the Malaysian labour market, which has remained closed to new Bangladeshi workers since May 31, 2024.

The ministry sent a demi-official (DO) letter to Malaysia's Minister of Human Resources and Minister of Home Affairs on June 24, 2026, requesting measures to reopen the labour market, he said.

The minister said the government has also held bilateral discussions with high-level Malaysian representatives on sending Bangladeshi workers to the country.

"It is hoped that the way for sending Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia will be paved very soon," he said.

Ariful said the government has taken various measures to create new employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers in different countries.

According to the minister, Bangladesh currently sends workers to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Singapore, Portugal, Seychelles, Serbia, Fiji, Romania, Macedonia, Mauritius, Italy and other European countries.

He said the government has taken an initiative to appoint country-specific local lobbyists or consultants, where necessary, based on recommendations from Bangladesh missions abroad to increase overseas employment.

Regarding Qatar, the minister said the seventh Joint Committee meeting between Bangladesh and Qatar took place in Dhaka on May 18, 2026.

At the meeting, Qatar expressed interest in recruiting Bangladeshi workers as electricians, plumbers, AC technicians and welders, he added.

The minister said diplomatic discussions with Malaysia and Oman also continue to facilitate the deployment of Bangladeshi workers as their labour markets remain closed or restricted.

He said workers are regularly being sent to Brunei, Jordan, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and other countries through Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL), the government recruitment agency under the ministry, at low or no cost.

The minister said the ministry has taken initiatives to sign memorandums of understanding (MoUs), memorandums of cooperation (MoCs) and agreements with new countries in line with the government's election manifesto.

He said the government has also put emphasis on skills training to increase the number of workers going abroad.

A project titled "Providing Driving Training for Employment at Home and Abroad" is underway to train 100,000 drivers, he added.

The minister said a Foreign Language and Skills Centre has also started operations at the Dhaka Technical Teachers Training Institute (DTTI) under the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).

He said the centre provides training in Japanese, Korean, English, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Arabic, Italian, German and other languages to help aspiring migrant workers overcome language barriers in destination countries.