Malaysia and Bangladesh have agreed to strengthen cooperation in higher education and skill development

Malaysia and Bangladesh have agreed to enhance cooperation in higher education, scholarships, and skill development following a bilateral meeting in Putrajaya on Friday.

Mahdi Amin, adviser to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on education, labour, and employment, met Malaysian Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir at the Ministry of Higher Education. Ariful Haque Choudhury, minister for expatriate welfare, overseas employment, labour, and employment, was also present.

Talks centred on expanding research collaboration, facilitating workforce mobility, and increasing scholarship opportunities for Bangladeshi students. Both sides also stressed the need to better integrate Bangladeshi students into Malaysian society.

According to the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia, the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties in education. Malaysia formally acknowledged the mandate of the newly elected government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and expressed its willingness to deepen institutional engagement under new policy frameworks.

Mahdi Amin highlighted the importance of boosting the global competitiveness of Bangladesh’s workforce and urged Malaysia to increase scholarships while establishing a structured support system to ensure the welfare, safety, and social integration of around 11,000 Bangladeshi students in the country.

He also proposed expanding inter-university partnerships, academic exchanges, and joint educational initiatives. Zambry Abdul Kadir welcomed the proposals, noting Malaysia’s openness to increasing scholarship allocations under existing and future schemes. Discussions also covered mutual recognition of qualifications, joint degree programmes, and distance learning. Both sides agreed on aligning academic programmes with the needs of their labour markets and priority sectors.

Earlier on Thursday, Ariful Haque Choudhury and Mahdi Amin met Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and later held talks with a delegation led by Malaysian Human Resources Minister Dato’ Sri Saravanan Murugan to discuss labour and employment cooperation.