Rahman begins first foreign tour with Malaysia, China focus

Dhaka,UPDATED: Jun 21, 2026 00:00 IST

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will begin his first overseas visit since taking office with trips to Malaysia and China, the Foreign Office said on Saturday. He will leave for Kuala Lumpur on Sunday at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim before travelling to China on June 23 on Chinese Premier Li Qiang's invitation.

Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam said Bangladesh will use the two-day Malaysia visit to seek support for becoming a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN and for joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. He said Rahman's engagements in Malaysia will focus on wider cooperation in trade, investment, energy and the labour market.

Siam also said Bangladesh will make a strong call to ASEAN member states, including Malaysia, to play a more active role in the repatriation of forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar. After Malaysia, Rahman will begin a four-day China visit, during which Bangladesh and China are expected to sign 15 to 17 bilateral instruments, including 13 Memorandums of Understanding and two agreements.

"There will be a discussion regarding the Teesta project," Siam said. The Teesta issue has drawn regional attention in recent years amid talks over possible Chinese participation in river management and development projects in Bangladesh. The river is also linked to a long-pending water-sharing issue between India and Bangladesh.

According to the Foreign Office in Dhaka, Rahman is scheduled to meet Premier Li on June 25 and President Xi Jinping on June 26. He will also attend the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions, known as the Summer Davos Forum, in the north-eastern Chinese city of Dalian, where global business and political leaders will discuss growth, innovation and emerging technologies, Siam said.

Officials said Rahman's China tour comes as Dhaka seeks to deepen ties with Beijing, one of Bangladesh's largest trading partners and development financiers. Bangladesh recently approved a Taka 41.89 billion infrastructure project for the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone in the south-eastern port of Chattogram, with concessional Chinese loans amounting to Taka 24.67 billion.

Interim government chief Muhammad Yunus had also visited Malaysia and China. Former ambassador and foreign affairs analyst Mahfuzur Rahman said the choice of the two countries for Rahman's first overseas tour reflected the importance Dhaka attaches to ties with them. Bangladesh-India relations were strained after a 2024 uprising toppled the government of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, but after Rahman's election victory and assumption of office earlier this year, leaders of the two countries exchanged messages expressing their intent to strengthen bilateral ties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Rahman on his election victory and invited him to visit New Delhi with his wife and daughter.

Rahman's first foreign tour will therefore take him first to Malaysia for talks on ASEAN, trade and the Rohingya issue, and then to China for high-level meetings, the Summer Davos forum and the signing of several bilateral instruments, including discussions on the Teesta project.

With PTI Inputs

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