DHAKA, Oct 5 — Malaysia will give major consideration to the applications of Bangladeshi workers who lost the opportunity due to political developments in their country, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said the Bangladeshi government had appealed to Malaysia on the possibility of increasing workers and professional intake from the country.

"I will certainly give that major consideration, at least the first phase, subject to all conditions being met, can be taken as soon as possible,” he said in a joint press conference with Chief Advisor of Bangladesh’s Interim Government, Dr Muhammad Yunus, after a bilateral meeting here yesterday.

Anwar is on a one-day visit and this is the first visit by a head of foreign government to Bangladesh since the formation of an interim government led by Muhammad, a Nobel laureate.

On investment, Anwar said that both countries should prioritise giving attention and preference to investing firms, ensuring that any problems were addressed swiftly and in a transparent manner.

"In Malaysia, our focus is governance, anti-corruption and economic fundamentals, we do not compromise this because we don’t need to associate political leaders to amassing wealth and enriching themselves or their families or their cronies.

"Therefore, I understand fully well that though we want Malaysian companies operating here (in Bangladesh) to be given adequate consideration, I will not compromise on issues of transparency and due diligence in the process,” he added.

Prime Minister said both countries would also be looking at enhancing collaboration in higher education, agriculture, the halal economy and the semiconductor industry.

"We can fast track in term of negotiation and trade arrangement but what is important is having the joint commission meeting as soon as possible,” he said.

Meanwhile, Muhammad said Dhaka looked forward to the joint commission meeting early next year to boost the bilateral trade.

"Future areas of collaboration could be in finance including sovereign fund, pension fund, private equity fund, health education, data sciences and AI,” he said. — Bernama