Bangladesh Seeks Malaysia’s Help To Support Its Application To Be ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- Bangladesh is seeking Malaysia’s help as chairman of ASEAN in 2025 to support its application to become a sectoral dialogue partner and enhance trade and investment linkages with the 10-member regional grouping.

Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Md Shameem Ahsan, said once Malaysia assumes the chair of ASEAN next year, it will be better placed to ensure Dhaka’s application is considered favourably by the 10 economies.

With the country’s pivotal position in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), he said there was a huge potential for economic benefits by collaborating with the Southeast Asian grouping.

“We have been aspirant and vigorously pursuing to become a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN because there is currently a moratorium on becoming a dialogue partner,” he told Bernama today.

“Nevertheless, the option for becoming sectoral dialogue partner is open,” he said in an interview.

“They (ASEAN) would need a consensus to allow Bangladesh to become a sectoral dialogue partner.”

A sectoral dialogue partner status would open up  ample trade and investment opportunities among other things for both sides.

Some of ASEAN’s other sectoral dialogue partners include Turkey, Morocco, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates as well as Switzerland and South Africa.

Touching on bilateral ties with Malaysia, he said Bangladesh which was enjoying extremely close ties with Malaysia was keen to strengthen and expand it further by exploring new areas of cooperation.

“It should be a win-win relationship through mutually beneficial and potentially huge engagements.”

Ahsan also said that the Bangladeshi interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has invited Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to visit the country potentially in the later part of this year.

“We are working with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to make that visit happen.” 

“Once the visit takes place, which has been long overdue, it will add substance and raise the profile of two-way ties as there will be the signing of a few instruments (of economic cooperation) which will take economic linkages to a higher level,” he said.

Malaysia is a major trading nation and a regional hub for trade in ASEAN while Bangladesh is Malaysia's second-largest trading partner in South Asia after India.

In 2022, Malaysia’s exports to Bangladesh totalled US$4.23 billion (RM18.4 billion) while Bangladesh’s exports to Malaysia were worth US$318 million (RM1.4 billion).

Malaysia is the eighth largest investor in Bangladesh, having around 400 Malaysian companies registered there.

-- BERNAMA