[🇧🇩] Can Bangla-Saudi Relation be elevated to Strategic Level?

[Saif]

Saudi crown prince to visit Bangladesh this year: Ambassador
15 Mar 2024, 2:28 pm

NN Online Report: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, who is also the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will pay an official visit to Bangladesh later this year.

This would be a landmark event in the history of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia leading to the consolidation of ties, especially in trade and commerce, investment and economic cooperation, both sides think.

“The Saudi crown prince has accepted the invitation extended by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh to visit the country this year. The date is yet to be fixed, however,” said Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yussef Essa Al Duhailan.

It would be the first ever visit of any Saudi crown prince to Bangladesh after 1985 when the then Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz visited Dhaka.

A good number of bilateral instruments — MoUs and agreements—will be signed during the visit of the Saudi leader, which would strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries significantly, both sides hope.

During the visit, the Saudi envoy said, the issues of mutual interests and ways to strengthening bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh will be discussed.

The Saudi ambassador talked to reporters after launching the distribution of food baskets on Thursday.

He hoped that the proposed visit of the crown prince will take place soon at a convenient time.

Meanwhile, the Saudi foreign minister has recently assured of further discussing this upcoming visit mentioning that Saudi Arabia considers their engagement with Bangladesh on the basis of sophisticated economic cooperation which has taken place during the last three years.

The ambassador said his country is planning to invest $1.2 billion in Bangladesh and Saudi company Red Sea Gateway Terminal will start operating the Patenga Bay Terminal in Chattogram next month.

Regarding the distribution of food baskets, the envoy said a total of 15,500 baskets of food items, each containing 24kg of food, will be distributed among the vulnerable people in 32 places across the country.

Under the instructions of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the food items are being provided to the vulnerable people as a symbol of solidarity.

The envoy said about 2.8 million Bangladeshis working in Saudi Arabia are also making significant contributions to Saudi and Bangladesh economies.​

 

[Deleted due to Error (Muji Iqbal)]

Sure. The agricultural economy of Bangladesh can be good for Saudi Arabia

 

[Saif]

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/foreign-affairs/338237/bangladesh-saudi-arabia-to-elevate-ties-to-higher

Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia to elevate ties to higher level​

​

• Historical relationship rooted in religious, cultural, economic bonds​
• PM Hasina expressed satisfaction over recent development activities​

​

President of the Shura Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Dr Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ibraheem Al Sheikh meets Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganabhaban in Dhaka on Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Photo: PID
UNB
Publish : 31 Jan 2024, 03:17 PMUpdate : 31 Jan 2024, 03:17 PM

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday agreed to take the existing excellent bilateral relations to a higher level.

This was expressed when President of the Shura Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Dr Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ibraheem Al Sheikh called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganabhaban.
The prime minister’s Deputy Press Secretary KM Shakhwat Moon briefed reporters after the call on.

Moon said that Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia share a rich and longstanding historical relationship rooted in religious, cultural, and economic bonds.

She informed that for Bangladeshi Muslims, Saudi Arabia holds a special place in their hearts being the birthplace of Islam and the two holiest sites, Makkah, and Madinah.

“Thousands of Bangladeshis perform the Holy Haji and the Umrah for religious purposes,” she said.

The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the recent development activities, reforms, and emerging role of Saudi Arabia on the global front under the visionary leadership of the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the Prime Minister and Crown Prince His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman.

Sheikh Dr Abdullah bin Muhammad congratulated the prime minister on her re-election.

He mentioned that Saudi Arabia was always with Bangladesh and it has a historical long lasting relationship.

He lauded visionary leadership of the prime minister for the unprecedented development of Bangladesh.

“The prime minister’s leadership is exemplary and imitable,” Shakhwat Moon quoted president of the Shura Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as saying.

He also conveyed the greetings of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud to the prime minister.

Welcoming the greetings, Sheikh Hasina also greeted the Crown Prince.

The prime minister’s Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, Ambassador-at-large M Ziauddin and Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah were present.​

 

[Saif]

Dhaka-Riyadh relations: Towards greater synergy

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) occupies a vital position in the foreign policy of Bangladesh for political and economic reasons. Ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1975, KSA has been crucial for the much needed economic aid, generally as grants, trade and investment, energ

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Dhaka-Riyadh relations: Towards greater synergy​

FE ONLINE DESK

Published :​

Mar 11, 2019 02:40

Updated :​

Mar 13, 2019 03:03

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) occupies a vital position in the foreign policy of Bangladesh for political and economic reasons. Ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1975, KSA has been crucial for the much needed economic aid, generally as grants, trade and investment, energy supplies, employment and remittances.

With approximately 20 per cent of world's oil reserves and gross domestic product (GDP) of $ 683.8 billion in 2017, Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Middle East. It has been making concerted efforts to reducing its dependence on export of oil by diversifying its economy under the Saudi Vision 2030. The goal is to transform Saudi Arabia as one of the hubs of global business and investment.

In recent times, Riyadh has been developing and expanding its international relationships more intensely in order to protect its economic and geopolitical interests. Analysts believe Saudi Arabia's necessity to expand its alliances has become more critical after the hostile response of the West over the murder of Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate, Istanbul in October 2018.

In this backdrop, Saudi commerce and investment minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, and economy and planning minister Mohammad bin Mazyad AlTuwaijiri led a high profile 34-member delegation to Dhaka on March 06-07, mainly to explore foreign direct investment (FDI) opportunities and strengthen strategic partnership between the two countries.

Notably, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were the first few world leaders who congratulated Bangladesh's PM Sheikh Hasina for winning the December 30 parliamentary elections. Now, Saudi Arabia is also the first country to send a high-powered business delegation to boost economic relationships.

While speaking at the plenary session of the joint ministerial level meeting with Bangladesh, Saudi commerce and investment minister, Majid Bin Abdullah Al Qasabi observed that they were determined to open "a new chapter" between the two countries. The finance minister of Bangladesh, AHM Mustafa Kamal and Salman F Rahman, prime minister's private industry and investment adviser too addressed the session.

The Saudi leader of the delegation, Qasabi apprised, "We are here to explore all possibilities to expand business and investment, and I can assure you that we want to become the true partner of Bangladesh in developing trade and investment."

Dhaka put forward roughly $35 billion worth of investment proposal to Riyadh which would be reviewed by a joint working committee headed by a senior minister of Saudi Arabia. Qasabi proposed the formation of a "Bangladesh-Saudi Business Council" to jointly explore and enhance trade and investment ties.

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia signed as many as six deals, including two agreements for the establishment of a solar power project and manufacturing transformers and electricity devises.

The four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) included, manpower export, setting up of a urea formaldehyde-85 plant, establishing biomedical engineering and technology institute and producing high-voltage cable.

The volume of investment by the two Saudi companies under the agreements stands at $135 million, while the estimated amount of investment under the four MoUs is worth $98 million. Economists believe quality investments from Saudi Arabia and others are likely to contribute to sustainable economic growth, creation of jobs, and reduction of poverty in Bangladesh.

Saudi Arabia also remains the leading trading partner of Bangladesh in the Middle East. However, bilateral trade at present is merely $1.4 billion a year. Currently, over 2.8 million Bangladeshi workers are employed in Saudi Arabia. Thus, Bangladesh received remittances of about $2.6 billion in 2018.

Investment from Saudi Arabia in Bangladesh hit about $5.0 billion in 2018. But this seems to be insignificant compared to its investment in Pakistan and India. The economic imperatives of Bangladesh have prompted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to officially visit Saudi Arabia four times during 2016-18.

To advance security cooperation, Bangladesh signed a defence agreement with Saudi Arabia on February 14, 2019. Under the agreement, around 1,800 Bangladeshi troops would be sent to Saudi Arabia to defuse mines along the war-torn Saudi-Yemen borders.

Bangladesh remains one of the fastest-growing economies in the developing world. It offers one of the most investor-friendly regulatory regimes in South Asia including low-cost labour, generous tax holidays, duty-free import of machineries, respite from double taxation, 100 per cent foreign ownership, full repatriation of capital and dividends etc.

To sum up, the firm commitments made by the largest ever Saudi Arabia business delegation clearly indicate that Dhaka-Riyadh relations are moving towards greater heights. The more intensely Saudi Arabia is censured by the Western countries for its violation of fundamental rights, the more likely is its alliance to grow with the Asian countries, including Bangladesh.

Dr. Kamal Uddin Ahmed is a former Professor and Chairman, Department of Political Science, University of Dhaka.​

 

[Saif]

Sky is the limit for Bangladesh-Saudi ties: Saudi minister

Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, yesterday said that there are a lot of opportunities in Bangladesh-Saudi Arabia relations, noting that the ties are already strong

www.thedailystar.net

Sky is the limit for Bangladesh-Saudi ties: Saudi minister​

Photo: BSS

Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, yesterday said that there are a lot of opportunities in Bangladesh-Saudi Arabia relations, noting that the ties are already strong.

"We see many opportunities. We want to make our ties stronger. Sky is the limit, and the ties are already very strong. We have a lot of opportunities," he told reporters when asked whether they see any challenges in the relations.

The Saudi minister, who had a meeting with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam at the state guesthouse Padma, said the two countries also have good cooperation in the area of investment, and that the Saudi minister for Investment will be visiting Bangladesh soon to promote further investments here.

Dr Tawfiq said he was thoroughly impressed to see Bangladesh's development and economic growth, and his country will continue to work together with Bangladesh for further development.

"I am truly impressed with the development that Bangladesh is witnessing," he said, noting that Bangladesh is a fast growing economy in South Asia and that his country is aware of Bangladesh's 2041 goals.

He said Saudi Arabia will continue to help Bangladesh so that it can see further development and grow.

The Saudi minister mentioned that they are hosting nearly 3 million Bangladeshis, the largest expatriate community in the kingdom.

"We are here to facilitate Bangladeshis to come and visit Makkah and Madinah. We made so many changes," he said.

Umrah visa has been extended to 90 days from 30 days, so that Bangladeshis can visit any city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"The process is very simple and very efficient," he said, adding that there are initiatives that will allow Bangladeshi citizens to book everything from one site.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh has always stood beside Saudi Arabia on strategic issues. "We are working together on many fronts."

He said there are some significant positive changes in Hajj management, making it almost hassle-free, and that Bangladesh is also grateful to Saudi Arabia for hosting nearly 3 million Bangladeshis.

"We hope that we can continue to help the KSA by sending hard-working human resources," said the state minister.

Shahriar Alam said they discussed business cooperation and ways to showcase Bangladesh in a greater way to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.​

 

[Saif]

Sure. The agricultural economy of Bangladesh can be good for Saudi Arabia

Not only that. Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia are taking steps to forge deeper defense relations between the two brotherly countries.

 

[Saif]

Saudi-Bangladesh strategic partnership through mutual investment opportunities

At the outset, we would like to convey our heartiest congratulations and deep gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on completion of his very successful three years since ascending the throne in 2015.

saudigazette.com.sa

By Golam Moshi* And Dr. Md. Nazrul Islam*

Saudi-Bangladesh strategic partnership through mutual investment opportunities​

​

December 30, 2017

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on June 5, 2016, at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaking at a business session at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on June 5, 2016.

At the outset, we would like to convey our heartiest congratulations and deep gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on completion of his very successful three years since ascending the throne in 2015.

We also pay our tribute to Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on this very auspicious occasion.

Bangladesh is now looking for greater engagements with Saudi Arabia, particularly in the areas of trade and investment apart from ongoing partnership in many areas including manpower.

The government and the people of Bangladesh consider the leadership of King Salman very vital for peace, prosperity and stability of Muslim Ummah since he is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of Islam.

We have witnessed a clear and visible signs of the pragmatic and visionary role of the Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman in his extraordinary efforts in uplifting Saudi society and economy.

Two official visits by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the Kingdom, first in June 2016 for bilateral meeting and second in May 2017 to attend Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, have played critical role in deepening of our relations.

Bangladesh is now considered a role model for the Muslim world being successful in consolidating democracy, pioneering role in UN peacekeeping operations, consistent economic growth, women empowerment and successfully combating terrorism and violent extremism under the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina participated in the Riyadh Summit to express solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a member of the Islamic Alliance to fight terrorism and violent extremism. Prime Minister reiterated firm commitment to fight this menace and conveyed her readiness to support the Kingdom in this endeavor.

Bangladesh was the second fastest growing economy in the world (in 2016) with more than 7% growth.

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia increasingly recognize mutually beneficial potential to expand bilateral economic cooperation across a range of areas.

During the visit of Prime Minister Hasina in June 2016, the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) organized a business session where leading Saudi businessmen took part and 10 leading Bangladesh businessmen were present.

In the business session Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called for more investment and exploring business opportunities in Bangladesh. She also offered a special economic zone out of 100 special economic zones to Saudi investors. As a follow up to the invitation of Bangladesh Prime Minister, a 21-member high-powered Saudi business delegation led by President of International Marketing Investment Company Group Ltd Moshabab Abdulla Alkahtani comprising representatives from the construction, real estate, construction materials, agriculture, tourism, food and beverage sectors visited Bangladesh from Dec. 4-7, 2017. They had fruitful interactive sessions with their Bangladeshi counterparts as well as meetings with Hon’ble Finance Minister and Commerce Minister of Bangladesh. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed at the meeting between FBCCI and Alfanar Energy, a leading manufacturer and construction company of Saudi Arabia.

According to the memorandum, the Alfanar Energy will establish a 40-100 MW solar power plant in Bangladesh and FBCCI will assist in establishing the project. After the inaugural session, the business entrepreneurs met at Business-to-Business (B2B) meeting.

Our Finance Minister AMA Muhith sought more Saudi Arabian investments in infrastructure, power and other sectors in Bangladesh, saying the government is providing all sorts of supports to the investors.

Bangladesh is an ideal destination for Saudi entrepreneurs as it has a dynamic young talented Muslim population (almost 90% population is Muslim) with attractive incentives. Potential investors may explore enormous investment opportunities in different sectors such as tourism industry, IT, ship-building, pharmaceuticals, etc. in Bangladesh.

For several decades, Bangladesh has been meeting the need of workers in several work streams in the Saudi labor market. The Bangladeshi migrant community has established their credentials working with considerable appreciation of Saudi people. In the process, they are also a part of contemporary Saudi economic growth. As of date, more than one and a half million Bangladeshi professionals and workers are living in the Kingdom. Many of them have also moved along as entrepreneurs in the Kingdom. In recent meetings between Bangladesh and Saudi officials it was agreed to stress upon on the institutions, curricula, related facilities, etc. in Bangladesh vis-à-vis academic and professional qualifications while proceeding on future recruitment of Bangladeshi workers including professionals. It is a timely initiative by both the governments to have a transparent and robust recruitment mechanism for lowering migration cost.

Recently the government of Saudi Arabia has opened up investment opportunities for Bangladeshi entrepreneurs who can either invest solely or with Saudi partnership as Joint Venture projects in different areas such as aquaculture and fisheries, construction, human resources training, tourism and many more areas. Recently the Governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) — the Saudi Invest — expressed his willingness to support Bangladeshi investors coming to the Kingdom. SAGIA offers ‘advice and services to support interested parties from the initial planning stage to aftercare.

As we know that Saudi Arabia is vigorously pursuing the Vision 2030 which offers Bangladesh opportunities in new areas of engagements in all areas such as manpower, trade, investment, education, agriculture etc.

Similarly, Bangladesh’s Vision 2021 to become a Middle Income Country and the Vision 2041 to attain the status of a developed country warrants Bangladesh to work closely with the Kingdom towards fast-growing cooperation in all areas, particularly in trade and investment.

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia should opt for transformation of respective economies for the bright future of their people.

Bangladesh is ready to have a strategic partnership to promote the Saudi Vision 2030, which will be beneficial for the people of both the brotherly countries and the Muslim Ummah.

*Bangladesh Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

*Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Bangladesh, Riyadh​

 

[Saif]

Shifting trajectories of Saudi-Bangladesh ties

The recently concluded visit of the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, along with his entourage, to Bangladesh, provided a fillip to the prevailing fraternal relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. Amid the growing geopolitical irritants of the Russia-Ukraine...

businesspostbd.com

Shifting trajectories of Saudi-Bangladesh ties​

Philip Sarker
08 Apr 2022 00:00:00 | Update: 08 Apr 2022 09:23:28

The recently concluded visit of the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, along with his entourage, to Bangladesh, provided a fillip to the prevailing fraternal relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. Amid the growing geopolitical irritants of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the first-ever ‘high-level political dialogue’ between Dhaka and Riyadh manifests the revitalization of the existing political coalition and demonstrates a ‘symbolic gesture’ to Saudi Arabia’s “reprioritization of Asia” in its foreign policy. Such a political climate makes the likelihood of building a relationship towards a “comprehensive partnership with a targeted roadmap”. Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen proposed to tap the untapped potential and create a “win-win situation” during the meeting.

A snapshot of the visit

The Prince’s visit followed the invitation of Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen. While he paid a courtesy call visit to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban, Prince Faisal hailed the tremendous economic expansion of Bangladesh. He expressed Riyadh’s willingness to explore new contours of economic cooperation. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh prime minister has sought larger investment from Saudi Arabia, particularly in the special economic zones of Bangladesh.

“Bangladesh is ready to extend support to (Saudi Arabia’s) investors, including allocating dedicated land for them in the special economic zones,” she said.

The main agendas of the consultation meeting were trade and investment, skilled labour recruitment, hajj management, health, education, climate change, ICT, and tourism. Turning to trade and investment, the Saudi Arabia diplomat emphasized the need to enhance collaboration and proposed launching a joint business forum and exchanging business delegations between the two countries. In addition, he expressed Saudi investors’ desire to invest “extensively” in Bangladesh and requested policy and institutional support in investment from Bangladesh.

During the meeting, Momen also pointed out six potential areas for future engagement, particularly collaboration and partnership with Saudi Green Initiative, investment in Bangladesh Exclusive Economic Zone in Chattogram, investment in the IT sector and hotel and tourism industry, food security programme by contract farming in third countries and skills training programme in Bangladesh at Saudi initiative. At the end of the consultation, two instruments - an agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters and an MoU on cooperation between the foreign service academies of the two countries were signed by the leaders.

Being one of the pillars of Islam, the Hajj – the pilgrimage to Mecca – has got special dignity and immense socio-economic and cultural impacts on Bengali Muslims. Every year thousands of Bangladeshi pilgrims visit Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. As a symbol of Fraternity, the Saudi government granted 100% immigration clearance from Bangladesh, which previously had to be done in KSA. Thus, the harassment of Bengali Hajis in a foreign land will be significantly reduced. Bangladesh also expressed its eagerness to join Saudi’s “Green initiative”, the largest reforestation program in the world, aiming to plant a total of 50 billion trees inside and across the neighboring Middle East countries, by providing saplings as well as assistance for maintenance, to combat the effects of climate change.

The growing reciprocity

Demonstrating the miraculous economic growth over the past decades, Bangladesh transformed from a “bottomless basket” into a “South Asian miracle”. It plans to graduate from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) category to a developing one by 2026. To avoid the ‘middle-income trap’ and escape from the ‘Dutch Disease’ Bangladesh needs more investment to diversify its economic engagements. These aspirations justify participation in rapidly expanding trade and economic collaboration with key partners such as Saudi Arabia. The evidence of growing reciprocity is also reflected in the recent press conference of Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh, Essa Yussef Essa Al Dulaihan, that Saudi Arabian Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih will lead a delegation of 22 companies to explore investment opportunities in Bangladesh after the Ramadan.

Additionally, the trade between the countries is in a crescendo over the years, which stood at 1.3 billion dollars in 2021. Beyond economic and cultural exchange, security cooperation between the countries is depicted in recent years. In conformity with the government’s “zero tolerance” policy against terrorism and violent extremism, Bangladesh has joined the Saudi-led military alliance IMCTC, a pan-Islamic unified front of 41 countries. Expressing satisfaction at the close alignment of positions in all major global issues, both leaders affirmed to continue this collaboration ahead.

The jewel in the crown of Dhaka-Riyadh relations is the 2.3 million vibrant Bangladeshi diaspora community who are incessantly contributing to Saudi’s “Vision-2030” as well as many development pathways, while simultaneously shouldering the economic pillar of Bangladesh by providing economy-boosting remittance. Even during the pandemic, Saudi employed around 1.61 lakh Bangladeshi workers, rather than resuming the labour market as others did, in 2020. As Bangladesh is currently enjoying the era of demographic dividend, Bangladesh needs to export more skilled and unskilled labourers to KSA from its vibrant labour market driven by its youth. According to the data of BMET, in January, a total of 105322 Bangladeshi workers to overseas countries. Of them, 71,172 workers were sent to Saudi Arabia, 65 per cent of total overseas employment. The outflow of workers would gather steam in the coming years as Saudi Arabia is in constant need of workers due to many mega infrastructure development projects is underway. Both the states are now working on addressing the challenges including the “middlemen” or “sub-agents” trap.
Since the inception of the Rohingya influx, Saudi Arabia continuously keep supporting Bangladesh, from the political and humanitarian ground, in the form of aid, assistance and remained vocal in global and regional forums. In continuation to that approach, Saudi Arabia has promised financial support to the genocide case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The war in Ukraine has come to the world in a wholly unanticipated form—in the context of intensity, barbarism, and global response—much in a similar posture of Covid-19. However, the effects of this war are much awful and devastating for the lower and middle-income countries that are likely to suffer mostly and abruptly, as typically expected, for the upshot of food and energy price hike — along with supply shortages— which pushes up the inflation and food insecurity. In these circumstances, to dodge the socio-financial turbulence and to maintain stability in the oil market, the KSA gave the commitment to provide an uninterrupted supply of oil to Bangladesh.

The current geopolitical metamorphism of world context has made the KSA, an ally of America, yield a distinct diplomatic approach as well as to reset its priorities, putting the intra Middle-Eastern skirmishes and Superpower dizziness behind. Saudi Arabia may account for the rise of the world’s fastest-growing region Asia for strategic rebalancing. In this context, Bangladesh could be fitted to Saudi’s new foreign policy context of hedging as in the growing geopolitical prominence of the Indo-Pacific, Bangladesh has become crucial both in strategic as well as geopolitical calculations.

The writer is an independent researcher.​

 

[Saif]

Shifting trajectories of Saudi-Bangladesh ties
Philip Sarker
08 Apr 2022 00:00:00 | Update: 08 Apr 2022 09:23:28

The recently concluded visit of the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, along with his entourage, to Bangladesh, provided a fillip to the prevailing fraternal relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. Amid the growing geopolitical irritants of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the first-ever ‘high-level political dialogue’ between Dhaka and Riyadh manifests the revitalization of the existing political coalition and demonstrates a ‘symbolic gesture’ to Saudi Arabia’s “reprioritization of Asia” in its foreign policy. Such a political climate makes the likelihood of building a relationship towards a “comprehensive partnership with a targeted roadmap”. Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen proposed to tap the untapped potential and create a “win-win situation” during the meeting.

A snapshot of the visit

The Prince’s visit followed the invitation of Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen. While he paid a courtesy call visit to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban, Prince Faisal hailed the tremendous economic expansion of Bangladesh. He expressed Riyadh’s willingness to explore new contours of economic cooperation. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh prime minister has sought larger investment from Saudi Arabia, particularly in the special economic zones of Bangladesh.

“Bangladesh is ready to extend support to (Saudi Arabia’s) investors, including allocating dedicated land for them in the special economic zones,” she said.

The main agendas of the consultation meeting were trade and investment, skilled labour recruitment, hajj management, health, education, climate change, ICT, and tourism. Turning to trade and investment, the Saudi Arabia diplomat emphasized the need to enhance collaboration and proposed launching a joint business forum and exchanging business delegations between the two countries. In addition, he expressed Saudi investors’ desire to invest “extensively” in Bangladesh and requested policy and institutional support in investment from Bangladesh.

During the meeting, Momen also pointed out six potential areas for future engagement, particularly collaboration and partnership with Saudi Green Initiative, investment in Bangladesh Exclusive Economic Zone in Chattogram, investment in the IT sector and hotel and tourism industry, food security programme by contract farming in third countries and skills training programme in Bangladesh at Saudi initiative. At the end of the consultation, two instruments - an agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters and an MoU on cooperation between the foreign service academies of the two countries were signed by the leaders.

Being one of the pillars of Islam, the Hajj – the pilgrimage to Mecca – has got special dignity and immense socio-economic and cultural impacts on Bengali Muslims. Every year thousands of Bangladeshi pilgrims visit Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. As a symbol of Fraternity, the Saudi government granted 100% immigration clearance from Bangladesh, which previously had to be done in KSA. Thus, the harassment of Bengali Hajis in a foreign land will be significantly reduced. Bangladesh also expressed its eagerness to join Saudi’s “Green initiative”, the largest reforestation program in the world, aiming to plant a total of 50 billion trees inside and across the neighboring Middle East countries, by providing saplings as well as assistance for maintenance, to combat the effects of climate change.

The growing reciprocity

Demonstrating the miraculous economic growth over the past decades, Bangladesh transformed from a “bottomless basket” into a “South Asian miracle”. It plans to graduate from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) category to a developing one by 2026. To avoid the ‘middle-income trap’ and escape from the ‘Dutch Disease’ Bangladesh needs more investment to diversify its economic engagements. These aspirations justify participation in rapidly expanding trade and economic collaboration with key partners such as Saudi Arabia. The evidence of growing reciprocity is also reflected in the recent press conference of Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh, Essa Yussef Essa Al Dulaihan, that Saudi Arabian Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih will lead a delegation of 22 companies to explore investment opportunities in Bangladesh after the Ramadan.

Additionally, the trade between the countries is in a crescendo over the years, which stood at 1.3 billion dollars in 2021. Beyond economic and cultural exchange, security cooperation between the countries is depicted in recent years. In conformity with the government’s “zero tolerance” policy against terrorism and violent extremism, Bangladesh has joined the Saudi-led military alliance IMCTC, a pan-Islamic unified front of 41 countries. Expressing satisfaction at the close alignment of positions in all major global issues, both leaders affirmed to continue this collaboration ahead.

The jewel in the crown of Dhaka-Riyadh relations is the 2.3 million vibrant Bangladeshi diaspora community who are incessantly contributing to Saudi’s “Vision-2030” as well as many development pathways, while simultaneously shouldering the economic pillar of Bangladesh by providing economy-boosting remittance. Even during the pandemic, Saudi employed around 1.61 lakh Bangladeshi workers, rather than resuming the labour market as others did, in 2020. As Bangladesh is currently enjoying the era of demographic dividend, Bangladesh needs to export more skilled and unskilled labourers to KSA from its vibrant labour market driven by its youth. According to the data of BMET, in January, a total of 105322 Bangladeshi workers to overseas countries. Of them, 71,172 workers were sent to Saudi Arabia, 65 per cent of total overseas employment. The outflow of workers would gather steam in the coming years as Saudi Arabia is in constant need of workers due to many mega infrastructure development projects is underway. Both the states are now working on addressing the challenges including the “middlemen” or “sub-agents” trap.

Since the inception of the Rohingya influx, Saudi Arabia continuously keep supporting Bangladesh, from the political and humanitarian ground, in the form of aid, assistance and remained vocal in global and regional forums. In continuation to that approach, Saudi Arabia has promised financial support to the genocide case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The war in Ukraine has come to the world in a wholly unanticipated form—in the context of intensity, barbarism, and global response—much in a similar posture of Covid-19. However, the effects of this war are much awful and devastating for the lower and middle-income countries that are likely to suffer mostly and abruptly, as typically expected, for the upshot of food and energy price hike — along with supply shortages— which pushes up the inflation and food insecurity. In these circumstances, to dodge the socio-financial turbulence and to maintain stability in the oil market, the KSA gave the commitment to provide an uninterrupted supply of oil to Bangladesh.

The current geopolitical metamorphism of world context has made the KSA, an ally of America, yield a distinct diplomatic approach as well as to reset its priorities, putting the intra Middle-Eastern skirmishes and Superpower dizziness behind. Saudi Arabia may account for the rise of the world’s fastest-growing region Asia for strategic rebalancing. In this context, Bangladesh could be fitted to Saudi’s new foreign policy context of hedging as in the growing geopolitical prominence of the Indo-Pacific, Bangladesh has become crucial both in strategic as well as geopolitical calculations.

The writer is an independent researcher.

 

[Saif]

Saudi co gets all-clear to operate Patenga container terminal

Decks are now all cleared for operation of the Patenga Container Terminal (PTC) with belated declaration bringing its designated import-export area under customs domain. With Wednesday's customs all-clear, officials said, the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) would be able to proceed on operat

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Saudi co gets all-clear to operate Patenga container terminal
Seaborne trade expected to ease, expand
DOULOT AKTER MALA
Published :
Apr 19, 2024 00:43
Updated :
Apr 19, 2024 00:43

Decks are now all cleared for operation of the Patenga Container Terminal (PTC) with belated declaration bringing its designated import-export area under customs domain.

With Wednesday's customs all-clear, officials said, the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) would be able to proceed on operationalising container terminal nearby the seaport under a joint venture with a Saudi company.

The first PPP under port sector's backup facility and its adjacent area get customs approval for export-import operations, amid much expectation from businesses of a breakthrough in foreign-trade shipments.

Construction of the container terminal, inaugurated by the Prime Minister in November 2023, was completed one and a half years ago, at a cost of Tk 12.29 billion.

The customs wing of the revenue board now issued a gazette, dated April 17, 2024, defining PCT and its adjacent back-up area as South Container Yard limit for the loading and unloading of goods.

According to the statutory regulatory order (SRO), signed by second secretary of customs Omar Mobin, the customs would have "full control on the customs station of PCT while CPA would control the goods godowns and security of goods".

On December 2023, the CPA signed a US$ 170-million contract under public-private partnership (PPP) paradigm with Red Sea Gateway Terminal International (RSGTI) of Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, in a letter, CPA secretary Md Omar Faruk had requested the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to allow the PTC its backup facility and adjacent area as bonded area to start work to make it operational.

Construction of the 600-metre-long PCT in 26 acres of land, located in-between Chittagong Dry-dock and Chittagong Boat Club, has raised new hopes among the businesses about expediting cargo-release process without congestion at the seaport which now begins to take regional trade load, too.

Having three jetties and an annual capacity of handling 0.5 million TEUs of containers, the PCT is expected to ease pressure on Chattogram Customs Houses.

In June 2017, the PCT got government approval and its construction completed in June 2022.

Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association (BSAA) Chairman Syed Md Arif says the PCT would facilitate import-export as it has capacity of large ship anchorages and round-the-clock navigation.

"The PCT was supposed to start operation from this month and one of our members has applied for using the terminal this month, which was not approved as the Saudi contractor may not fully be prepared for handling the geared ships," he says for an instance of interest in business circles.

The government has leased the maiden private port terminal for 22 years to the Saudi firm.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia complete feasibility study on urea fertiliser factory

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have wrapped up a feasibility study on a urea fertiliser factory as part of a joint venture. Mohammed Alibrahim, the Saudi assistant minister for oil and gas, told Prime Minister’s Adviser on Private Industry and Investment Salman F Rahman about the study at a mee

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia complete feasibility study on urea fertiliser factory

The Saudi assistant minister for oil and gas informs Salman F Rahman about the feasibility study during a meeting in Riyadh
BDNEWS24.COM
Published :
May 01, 2024 23:40
Updated :
May 01, 2024 23:40

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have wrapped up a feasibility study on a urea fertiliser factory as part of a joint venture.

Mohammed Alibrahim, the Saudi assistant minister for oil and gas, told Prime Minister's Adviser on Private Industry and Investment Salman F Rahman about the study at a meeting in Riyadh.

They discussed the Saudi-Bangladesh partnership at Alibrahim's office on Tuesday night, the adviser's public relations office said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Saudi assistant minister said they were working on technical matters after completing the study and will meet Bangladesh's technical team now.

He was keen on energy cooperation with Bangladesh.

Alibrahim told Salman that the Saudi government was considering Bangladesh's proposal to buy crude oil under a delayed payment system.

They also discussed a DSP fertiliser plant.

Salman also met Saad Alkroud, chief of staff at Saudi Public Investment Fund and secretary general of its board of directors, who praised the Bangladesh government for the country's economic development.

He expressed satisfaction over the investment of Saudi firm Red Sea Gateway Terminal in Patenga port.

The Saudi official handed Salman a list of 80 companies of the Gulf kingdom that are keen on investing in Bangladesh.

Alkroud hoped that the PIF will join Bangladesh's journey towards development through its company.

Salman held the meetings after attending a World Economic Forum session in Riyadh.​

 

[Saif]

Dhaka, Riyadh to hold political consultation July 1

Dhaka and Riyadh will hold the second political consultation on July 1 when they will discuss the upcoming visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Bangladesh as well as Saudi investment, trade, manpower, and Rohingya crisis

www.thedailystar.net

Dhaka, Riyadh to hold political consultation July 1

Dhaka and Riyadh will hold the second political consultation on July 1 when they will discuss the upcoming visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Bangladesh as well as Saudi investment, trade, manpower, and Rohingya crisis.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud will lead the respective sides in the consultation in Riyadh, foreign ministry sources said.

Private Sector Adviser to Prime Minister Salman F Rahman, Additional Foreign Secretary (bilateral) Md Nazrul Islam, Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammad Javed Patwary, Director General of West Asia Wing Shafiqur Rahman and Director Nafisa Monsur will be part of Bangladesh delegation.

"Bangladesh side will be highlighting the needs for investment, protection of the Bangladeshi migrants in the Kingdom, support in addressing Rohingya crisis," a foreign ministry official said.

He said many Saudi companies are keen to invest in Bangladesh and the announcements may come during the visit of the Saudi crown prince later this year.

Saudi Arabia may also raise the issue of renewing passports of about 69,000 Rohingyas who went to the Gulf country in the past.

In early May this year, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told media that Dhaka will renew passports of the 69,000 Rohingyas considering that they might be deported otherwise.

"Bangladesh will seek increased international pressure on Myanmar for repatriation of over a million Rohingya," a source said.

The two countries will also discuss the regional conflicts in the Middle East including Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, cooperation among the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), among others.​

 

[Deleted due to Error (Muji Iqbal)]

Saudi Arabia should invest in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a large human resource pool that can be used in Saudi Arabia.

 

[Saif]

Saudi Arabia should invest in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a large human resource pool that can be used in Saudi Arabia.

Though Saudi Arabia has expressed its intention to invest in Bangladesh, they have failed to keep their promises so far. I don't expect any investment from Saudi Arabia because their promises to invest in Bangladesh are just lip service.

 

[Deleted due to Error (Muji Iqbal)]

Though Saudi Arabia has expressed its intention to invest in Bangladesh, they have failed to keep their promises so far. I don't expect any investment from Saudi Arabia because their promises to invest in Bangladesh are just lip service.

What can Bangladesh offer Saudi Arabia? In this transactional world, its about what can you offer the other party.