Bangladesh PM to Visit Malaysia and China, Skipping India on First Overseas Trip
En resumen
- Bangladesh's new Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will visit Malaysia and China in late June for his first overseas trip.
- The decision to prioritize these nations over India is seen by analysts as a move to strike a diplomatic balance and reflects an independent foreign policy, focusing on labor welfare with Malaysia and infrastructure and investment with China.
Resumen generado por IA
Analysts view the decision to prioritise Kuala Lumpur and Beijing as practical rather than a direct snub of New Delhi
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Published: 1:30pm, 13 Jun 2026
Bangladesh’s new leader is set to visit Malaysia and China later this month in a trip that Dhaka says reflects its independent foreign policy – with the decision to skip India seen less as a snub than a bid to strike a diplomatic balance.
Tarique Rahman, who became Bangladesh’s 11th prime minister in February, plans to visit Malaysia on June 21–22 before a three-day official visit to China from June 23 on his first overseas trip since taking office.
The Malaysia leg, scheduled ahead of any visit to India, is expected to focus on migrant worker welfare, labour migration, recruitment costs and legal employment channels.
Malaysia hosts around 800,000 Bangladeshi workers, accounting for some 37 per cent of its foreign workforce in the manufacturing, construction, plantations and agriculture sectors.
In Beijing, Rahman is expected to further infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative while also seeking fresh investment in technology, renewable energy, agriculture and healthcare, according to Mohammad Shakil Bhuiyan, an assistant professor of political studies at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Bangladesh.
