Staff Correspondent
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus recently urged Saudi Arabia to invest more in Bangladesh as
he sought enhanced energy and economic cooperation to boost ties between the two friendly nations.
The chief adviser made the call when Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Youssef Essa Al Duhailan
paid a courtesy call on him at his office here.
"This is the time that Saudi Arabia can give the best support to us," Prof Yunus told the Saudi envoy,
terming the relationship between the two countries 'unique' and 'separate' than other countries.
He called on the envoy to convey his request to the Saudi government for depositing funds in
Bangladesh's central bank to boost liquidity support as part of economic cooperation, saying it will be "a
wonderful gesture to the Interim Government".
The chief adviser also called for concessional supply of energy and petroleum products as well as
enhanced trade and increased Saudi investment in the training of the Bangladeshi young people so that
Dhaka can send more skilled and trained workers to the oil-rich country.
Ambassador Al Duhailan acknowledged the contribution of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Saudi Arabia,
saying that gaining more skills would help them earn a better salary and send more remittances back
home.
Currently, nearly 3 million Bangladeshis are employed in the kingdom, sending billions of US dollars
annually.
The envoy said Saudi Arabia issues on average 5,000 visas to Bangladeshi migrants and Muslim pilgrims
daily.
In 2023, about half a million Bangladeshis visited Saudi Arabia to perform umrah hajj, a 37 percent
increase from the previous year.
Al Duhailan said his country was eager to invest more in Bangladesh and sought support from the office
of the chief adviser to facilitate proposed Saudi investment in the port and logistics sectors especially in
Matarbari deep seaport, and power and renewable energy sectors by Acwa Power.
He handed over two letters from the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulating the chief adviser on the occasion of Saudi
National Day.
"My government wants to see stability in Bangladesh, and Inshallah is ready to support the Bangladesh
government," said the Saudi ambassador.
He presented the chief adviser a copy of the Holy Quran and a replica of the falcon, the national bird of
Saudi Arabia.
