New Delhi, June 21 -- Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has chosen Malaysia and China for his first foreign visit in order to expand overseas employment opportunities and drum up investments, signalling his foreign policy priorities by bypassing India which has traditionally been the destination for such trips. Rahman, who is set to begin the trip on Sunday, will make a two-day visit to Malaysia that is expected to focus on trade, investment, energy cooperation, semiconductors and new avenues for Bangladeshi workers. He will then travel to China for a four-day visit that will see him participating in the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions, known as the "Summer Davos", and meeting President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. Bangladesh and China are expected to sign up to 17 bilateral instruments, including 13 memorandums of understanding and an action plan during the visit, foreign secretary Asad Alam Siam told reporters in Dhaka on Saturday. He said discussions on a project to restore and manage the Teesta river through dredging and embankment construction would be on the agenda. Another agreement relates to Chinese participation in modernising Mongla port. The visit is being seen as a major diplomatic initiative aimed at strengthening Bangladesh's economic partnerships, attracting foreign investment and enhancing regional connectivity, Siam said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent an invitation for Rahman to visit India when Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla travelled to Dhaka in February to participate in Rahman's swearing-in ceremony. This was part of New Delhi's outreach to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party following its victory in the general election. Rahman's decision to travel to Malaysia first is being seen as part of his government's careful balancing between India and China in line with its "Bangladesh First" policy. Malaysia is also home to almost 800,000 Bangladeshi workers, almost a third of its foreign workforce. Reports in Bangladeshi media said Bangladesh and China are expected to issue a joint communique after a gap of almost two decades, and Dhaka is expected to sign on for Beijing's Global Development Initiative, a key foreign policy framework unveiled by President Xi in 2021. These measures will help shift China's cooperation with Bangladesh from project-driven initiatives to deeper political and economic engagement....