14th January 2025, Dhaka: A delegation of BMCCI led by His Excellency Mohd Shuhada Othman, High Commissioner of Malaysia to Bangladesh and Chief Patron of BMCCI met with H.E. Sk. Bashir Uddin, Hon’ble Adviser, Ministry of Commerce in his office to discuss how to promote bilateral trade and commerce between Bangladesh and Malaysia and to achieve a stronger economic tie between the two brotherly Countries. BMCCI President Mr. Shabbir A Khan together with BMCCI Board members and officials from the High Commission were present at the meeting.
One of the key topics discussed was signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Malaysia and Bangladesh. The delegation expressed their keen interest to engage with the Ministry to fulfill the requirements for signing an FTA between the two countries, sharing expertise and knowledge on trade-related issues, facilitating partnerships between stakeholders, advocating greater access to markets, and promoting trade between the two countries. The Hon’ble Adviser also expressed a positive stance to the Malaysian envoy on signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Malaysia, stating that Bangladesh could leverage the FTA as the country graduates to Middle-Income status in 2026.
Taking up the discussion, the BMCCI President focused on the current state of Bangladesh-Malaysia trade scenario which favors Malaysia with a large trade deficit. Bangladesh exports $293 million to Malaysia during the FY 2023-24 period. While Bangladesh’s total imports of goods & services from Malaysia amounting to $2.6 billion during the same period.
The discussion highlighted the need to enhance people-to-people contact to bridge the gap and foster a deeper understanding of each other’s markets and business opportunities. The Hon’ble Adviser appreciated the role of BMCCI and emphasized the importance of conducting market research to identify products that Malaysia imports. He believes this could help minimize the trade deficit between the two countries.
BMCCI delegation informed Commerce Adviser about the initiatives aimed at leveraging the growing Halal market, which is projected to reach approximately USD 6 trillion by 2031. BMCCI highlighted Malaysia’s prominent position as the second-largest player in the global Halal industry, contributing significantly with exports valued at USD 12 billion and imports of about USD 15 billion in 2024. The delegation emphasized the importance of establishing partnerships with Malaysian certification bodies, such as the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), to enhance Bangladesh’s Halal certification processes.
BMCCI President also shared their goal to enhance trade ties with the ASEAN framework, particularly under Malaysia’s chairmanship. BMCCI President sees immense potential for Bangladeshi products and services to penetrate this vibrant market by capitalizing Malaysia’s strategic position within ASEAN to foster deeper economic collaboration and trade relations among member countries. The delegation highlighted ongoing initiatives aimed at promoting Bangladeshi exports, which could significantly benefit from Malaysia’s leadership in the region.
The Commerce Adviser appreciated the BMCCI’s proactive approach and encouraged their efforts in entering the huge market. He urged the Malaysian envoy to support these initiatives, emphasizing that collaboration between the two countries could pave the way for mutual economic prosperity.
Mr. Shabbir A Khan informed the Honourable Commerce Adviser that BMCCI has undertaking the initiative to feed the high demand of skilled engineers between Bangladesh and Malaysia benefiting both countries. Through collaboration with Malaysian stakeholders BMCCI can contribute to addressing the skills gap in Malaysia and fostering the development of a highly skilled workforce that can drive the growth and progress of both nations. By capitalizing on Bangladesh’s strengths in upstream design and engineering and Malaysia’s expertise in downstream fabrication Bangladesh can position itself in the global semiconductor market as Bangladesh targeting a export figure of USD 1 billion in 2030.
Honourable Adviser H.E. Sk. Bashir Uddin expressed his gratitude to the Malaysian Envoy and BMCCI delegation for bringing forward important issues regarding the trade and commerce between the two brotherly nations. He attentively listened to the delegations and acknowledged the efforts made by BMCCI. Honourable Adviser reiterated to work together with the private sector to uphold the concerns addressed and expressed his interest in working with the aforementioned opportunities.
BMCCI’s Vice President Mr. Mahbubul Alam, Secretary General Mr. Md. Motaher Hoshan Khan, Joint Secretary General Mr. Rubaiyat Ahsan, Joint Secretary General Mr. Sifat Ahmed Chaudhuri, Director Mr. Mahmudur Rashid were present at the meeting.
