Dhaka seeks Saudi investment in PPP projects

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam has urged Saudi Arabia to sign an MoU between the Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) of Bangladesh and the competent Saudi authority, which would enable Saudi investors to invest in Bangladesh.

He discussed the issue during a bilateral meeting with his Saudi counterpart Adel Al-Jubeir at the latter’s office in Riyadh on Sunday, said a press release.

Saudi State Minister Adel Jubeir replied in positive stressing on potential Saudi investors to invest in a vibrant economy like Bangladesh and hoped they will soon sort out the MoU issue regarding PPP.

The Bangladesh state minister stressed regular business to business dialogue to explore bilateral trade and investment opportunities in Bangladesh.

On a proposal from the Bangladesh state minister for a joint venture in contract farming in suitable African countries where Bangladesh can provide its expertise in agriculture and manpower, the Saudi state minister welcomed the proposal.

Shahriar Alam expressed his government’s gratitude to the Saudi King and Crown Prince for allowing all the foreign residents irrespective of their legal status for access to free Covid-19 treatment and inoculation, which has saved many lives of expatriates including the Bangladesh community living in the Kingdom.

In reply to a request, State Minister Jubeir assured of considering an interim arrangement for the irregular Bangladesh expatriates to have access to health facilities and employment.

State Minister Alam also requested to reappoint a cultural attache at the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka, so the service seekers’ would not need to send their documents to New Delhi for attestation and the Saudi side took note of that.

Both the state ministers agreed to expedite the pending agreements and MoUs and to hold the first Foreign Office Consultation where the whole gamut of bilateral relationship could be discussed.

Saudi state minister congratulated Bangladesh on its 50th anniversary of independence. He highly praised the remarkable sustained economic growth of Bangladesh carried out in the last decade under the able leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Saudi state minister continued, the recent UN decision to graduate Bangladesh from the LDC category to the middle-income one is a testimony of this success.

He fondly remembered the historic ties between these two countries and the valued contribution of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to its independence and laying the foundation of Golden Bengal.

State Minister Shahriar Alam mentioned that under the visionary leadership of both countries, the relations have elevated to a strategic level. For advancing from this point, he emphasized exploring further avenues of cooperation on international issues based on common interest and goals and economic ties. Alam reiterated the Bangladesh government’s unwavering support to the Saudi side and expressed solidarity condemning the recent cowardly attacks on Houthis. Adel Al-Jubeir appreciated Bangladesh’s position on the Yemen issue.