Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman picks Malaysia, China for first overseas trips, skips India

DHAKA, June 20 — Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is set to visit Malaysia and China on his first trip abroad since assuming office, the foreign ministry said Saturday, bypassing neighbouring India as his inaugural destination.

Rahman will travel to Malaysia on Sunday before heading to China the following day, Dhaka’s state-run BSS news agency reported, citing foreign ministry officials.

In Beijing, trade and infrastructure projects are expected to dominate discussions, according to the officials.

Those could include Chinese support for the long-delayed Teesta project, a plan to restore and manage a key Bangladesh river through dredging, embankment construction and irrigation.

“The visits are being viewed as a major diplomatic initiative aimed at strengthening Bangladesh’s economic partnerships,” BSS reported, citing the foreign ministry.

Malaysia is home to an estimated 800,000 Bangladeshi workers, making up more than a third of its foreign workforce.

Bangladesh is largely landlocked by India, but relations have been strained since a 2024 uprising toppled the government of then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, an ally of New Delhi.

Ties improved after Rahman won elections and took over in February from the interim administration that had led the country of 170 million people since Hasina’s ouster.

But frictions remain, with Hasina in hiding in India since fleeing the uprising and Bangladesh repeatedly seeking her extradition.

Relations have also deteriorated along the border, with India sending people it deems illegal migrants across the frontier to Bangladesh.

India has long been wary of China’s growing regional influence, with the world’s two most populous countries competing for sway in South Asia. — AFP