The Saudi embassy has sped up the visa processing functionary in Bangladesh and now issuing about 5,000 visas a day from Dhaka. Big companies of the Kingdom are also set to invest in different sectors of Bangladesh with the growing bilateral relations.
Saudi Ambassador Essa Youssef Essa Al Duhailan made the comments while speaking at a press briefing on the launching of the Saudi Volunteer Program (EBSAR) in Dhaka on Tuesday.
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre’s (KSRELIEF) Assistant Supervisor General for Planning and Development Dr Aqeel Al Ghamdi launched the program in presence of the ambassador.
Under the program, 30,000 students across 50 schools in Dhaka will get eye treatment.
The ambassador said the relationship with Bangladesh is “multi-faceted” now. And it transcends Hajj and Umrah. “Now cooperation is increasing in the fields of trade, culture, defense cooperation, manpower,” he said.
Saudi energy giant, ACWA Power, signed MoU with the energy ministry last year to invest in a 1000 MW solar energy project in Bangladesh.
The Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) will soon sign a deal to be the operator of Patenga container terminal.
The ambassador said they were expecting to sign a deal in a couple of months. “There is no obstacle,” he said, as they were “getting support from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina”.
The Red Sea Gateway currently operates in the King Abdulaziz Port in Jeddah.
Responding to another question the Saudi envoy said that the Saudi oil giant Aramco has plans to invest in the refinery sector in Bangladesh.
He mentioned that though previously several delegations from Aramco visited Bangladesh, no progress could be made.
“But some positive developments may take place now,” he said, mentioning that this issue will be put on the table during the upcoming visit of the Saudi investment minister to Dhaka.
Earlier, celebrating the 93rd national day of the Kingdom on September 26, the ambassador announced that Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud would visit Bangladesh next year.
He said Bangladesh held "a special place in our heart," and the relationship had grown further "due to the stable government and remarkable economic growth" of the country.
The presence of Saudi companies had already increased "substantially,” he said, crediting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for "facilitating" investment in Bangladesh.
He said the Saudi-Bangladesh relations were strengthened after the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the Kingdom in 2016 and meeting with the King of Saudi Arabia, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as well as visits by a number of Saudi ministers who accompanied high-level officials from the Kingdom to Bangladesh.
Addressing the briefing, Assistant Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, Dr Aqeel Al Ghamadi said: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been providing humanitarian programs and aid around the world under the guidance of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
“Their commitment to helping people in need has placed the kingdom among the top 10 donor countries in the world”.
Saudi Arabia has provided more than $124 billion for humanitarian and developmental aid to low- and middle-income countries in the last three decades.
Dr Ghamadi informed that since the inception, the centre had implemented 2,591 projects in more than 94 countries at a total cost exceeding $6 billion.
This includes 52 projects to provide humanitarian aid to Bangladesh for which more than $25 million was spent, he said adding these programmes benefited more than 6 million poor people.
Additionally, 25 projects, worth $26 million, have been implemented to support Rohingya refugees at Cox bazar.
Helping to reduce the rates of preventable blindness and visual impairment in Bangladesh has been top priority for King Salman humanitarian aid and relief center since the beginning, he said.
