State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam said on Tuesday that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become a respected development partner and welcomed the increased interest Saudi Arabia has shown in investing in Bangladesh.
According to him, the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has given Bangladesh’s infrastructure development about 533.23 million dollars in loan help and 106.38 million dollars in grant assistance.
“Bangladesh deeply appreciates Saudi Arabia’s commitment and efforts to diplomacy and regional stability,” said the State Minister, while speaking at a reception as guest of honor marking the 93rd National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the Royal Saudi Embassy.
PM’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman joined as the chief guest.
Speakers at the occasion included the Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh, Essa Yousef Essa Al Duhailan, as well as cabinet members, ambassadors and high commissioners based in Dhaka, business executives, and leading journalists.
Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh welcomes Saudi Arabia’s restoration of ties with Iran and Qatar, its willingness to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, its initiative to bring Syria to the Arab League, and finding a political solution to the Yemen crisis. “We further reiterate our support for the Middle East peace process.”
‘We also take note of Saudi Arabia’s increasing global clout and welcome Saudi Arabia’s inclusion to BRICS. Indeed, we are happy to support Saudi Arabia in hosting Expo 2030 in Riyadh,” he said.
The State Minister emphasized the importance of Saudi Arabia’s continuing peace, development, and prosperity.
“We hope that Bangladesh-Saudi relations will grow from strength to strength and move forward to the mutual benefits of our two peoples,” he said, commending the Ambassador for his active and dynamic roles in strengthening mutual cooperation and bilateral engagements to new dimensions.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince, Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the brotherly people of Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi government were all sent heartfelt congratulations by the State Minister on this momentous occasion.
He claimed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh are reliable allies and bilateral partners.
“Bangladesh enjoys excellent multifaceted relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the bilateral and multilateral areas,” said the State Minister.
The relations take roots in the commonality of positions on major global issues and complementarity of interests in the economic fields, deep understanding, mutual respect, similar aspirations for peace and development underpinned by common Islamic tradition and culture, he said.
“The engagements today span across many areas including economy, trade, investment, energy security, agriculture, culture, education, etc. in addition to the dominant sector of manpower,” said the State Minister.
Shahriar Alam claimed that the numerous engagements between Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh are ushering in a new era of partnership.
“The depth and warmth of our ties is reflected in the high level visit and frequent exchange of messages between the leaders of our two countries,” he said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Saudi Arabia five times during the last 15 years in 2009, 2016, 2017, and twice in 2018 respectively.
Bangladesh also received high level delegations from Saudi Arabia to Dhaka including the Saudi Foreign Minister, Commerce Minister, Deputy Minister for Interior Affairs, and the Minister and Deputy Minister for Hajj and Umrah, along with a number of business delegations to Dhaka.
“Our President and Prime Minister’s recent productive meetings with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud this year has inspired us to further elevate our excellent fraternal relations,” said Shahriar.
The Kingdom is hosting 2.8 million workers from Bangladesh, who are not only the largest expat group in the Kingdom but also the biggest community of Bangladeshi expatriates outside Bangladesh.
“It’s a matter of great satisfaction that our overseas employment cooperation has expanded many-fold in recent years,” Shahriar added.
The two countries signed a vital agreement this year related to Workers’ Recruitment and Skill Verification Programme (SVP) specific to the Bangladeshi workforce, through which the Kingdom will recruit skilled workers while continuing to recruit unskilled workers from the country.
