TDS Desk:

Bangladesh has requested Malaysia to take necessary measures as early as possible to supply refined palm oil to Bangladesh through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) under the support of the Malaysian government ahead of the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Sk Bashir Uddin, Adviser to the Ministry of Commerce, made the request when he met YB Datuk Seri Johari bin Abdul Ghani, Minister of Plantation and Commodities of Malaysia, on the second day of his two-day visit to Malaysia yesterday.

In response, the Malaysian Minister took due note of the request of the Commerce Adviser of Bangladesh for the supply of refined palm oil to Bangladesh on a Business to Government (B2G) basis under the patronage of his government and strongly assured of taking immediate effective measures after discussing this with local businessmen, said a press release today.

The Malaysian Minister welcomed the Adviser and congratulated him on his new responsibility. During the meeting, the Adviser highlighted various aspects of Bangladesh-Malaysia bilateral relations and informed the Malaysian Minister about the demand, production and supply system of essential commodities in Bangladesh.

It is worth noting that Malaysia is the world’s second largest palm oil producer and Bangladesh is one of the major South Asian importing countries in terms of importing Malaysian crude palm oil.

The Commerce Adviser highlighted the government’s plan to provide various essential commodities including edible oil at fair prices to 10 million families under the Social Safety Net program through the state-run TCB.

Among the topics discussed included, among others, collaboration in the rubber sector development, potential trade and investment opportunities and cooperation in establishing the Commodity Exchange proposed by the Chittagong Stock Exchange.

Deputy High Commissioner Mohammad Khorshed Alam Khastgir, First Secretary (Commercial) Pranab Kumar Ghosh, First Secretary (Political) Rehana Parvin from the High Commission were present while Press Secretary to the Malaysian Minister of Agriculture and Commodities Yusrinuddin bin Abd Karim and other officials were present among others.