Bangladesh will sign a bilateral investment protection deal with Kuwait before construction of a crude oil refinery in Maheshkhali island in Cox’s Bazar.
They said the “Bilateral Capital Investment, Development and Protection” deal is likely to be signed next month.
Ministry of Industries has finalised a draft of the agreement at an interministerial meeting on Tuesday, with Industries Secretary Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan in the chair.
According to the draft, Bangladesh and Kuwait will create a desirable and favourable conditions for the development of economic cooperation between them with particular focus on protection of bilateral investment.
The agreement will recognise that the promotion and reciprocal protection of such investments will be conducive to the stimulation of business initiative and to the increase of prosperity in both contracting parties.
Both parties will protect each one’s investment as per the United Nations’ Washington Convention.
Besides, proceeds of the private firms and state-run companies of the parties under the deal can be retained in their own countries.
Last year the government offered a nearly 1,000-acre land on the Bay of Bengal island in the southern district of Cox’s Bazar to Kuwait Petroleum International for a crude oil refinery project.
The annual capacity of the refinery will be 10m tonnes and the project will be implemented at a cost of $6.0bn.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation has already demarcated the land area, officials said.
During last three years exports from Bangladesh to Kuwait have increased by more than 133% to $35m.