Bangladesh and Malaysia will begin the first round of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations in Dhaka today, as Bangladesh seeks preferential market access ahead of its graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category.
The talks will be held at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka, with Additional Commerce Secretary Khadiza Nazneen leading the Bangladesh delegation. A 30-member Malaysian delegation is attending the negotiations, which aim to advance an agreement by next year.
The proposed FTA is part of Bangladesh’s broader effort to expand trade partnerships as LDC graduation threatens to reduce some existing trade preferences. Bangladesh has signed economic partnership agreements with Japan and South Korea this year, although both are awaiting parliamentary ratification. A preferential trade agreement with Bhutan, signed in 2020, is already operational.
Md Anwar Shahid, president of the Bangladesh Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the initiative and urged negotiators to include manpower exports alongside goods trade.
Bangladesh exports apparel, leather products, jute goods, seafood and pharmaceuticals to Malaysia, while importing products including palm oil, electronics, machinery, rubber and chemicals. In fiscal year 2024–25, Bangladesh exported goods worth $282 million to Malaysia and imported $2.29 billion, according to Export Promotion Bureau and Bangladesh Bank data.
M Masrur Reaz, chairman and CEO of Policy Exchange of Bangladesh, said expanding trade agreements and diversifying export markets would be increasingly important after LDC graduation. He also highlighted Malaysia’s potential as a gateway for Bangladesh to access the wider Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market.
