Bangladesh, KSA bilateral relations enhanced

Bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia is rooted deep in history, culture and religious bonds.

March 26, 2014
Bangladesh, KSA bilateral relations enhanced
Bangladesh, KSA bilateral relations enhanced

Talat Zaki Hafiz


Bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia is rooted deep in history, culture and religious bonds. For the past 38 years, both Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have undertaken a journey of shared values that has led us to where we are, a journey of cooperation and mutual trust that has enhanced our bilateral ties, and a journey of friendship that has imprinted in our hearts for now and the years to come.

Bangladesh believes in religious harmony and tolerance and plays a vital role in maintaining peace in the trouble-prone parts of the world being the No. 1 contributor to the United Nations peacekeeping force. A vibrant democracy, Bangladesh is making sustained efforts to spread the message of tolerance, peace and moderation of Islam and in this regard strengthening cooperation with Saudi Arabia is crucial.

Saudi Arabia being the birth place of Islam and home to Islam’s two holiest mosques in Makkah and Madinah, is the most brotherly and revered country for the 150 million people of Bangladesh, of whom nearly 90 percent are Muslims. Saudi Arabia has a special place in the hearts of the people of Bangladesh and they always remember the contributions made by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and his government during “our times of need”. Around 1.2 million Bangladeshis working here felt proud to be a part of the development activities of the great country. The extents of bilateral relations that so happily exist between the two friendly countries have endured the test of time.

Bangladesh’s relations with Saudi Arabia are multifaceted. Interactions between the peoples of the two countries date back to more than thousand years. Arab traders used to visit Chittagong port since the early days of Islam. Now is the time not only to reinvigorate these ties but also to explore possibilities of further expanding them to newer areas like investment, tourism, and cultural exchanges.

Over the last 38 years, Bangladesh-Saudi friendship has not only endured the vicissitude of time, but also been consolidated and prospered. We have been maintaining good momentum of high-level exchanges and contacts, deepening our mutual trust. Especially during the last three years the high level visits by ministers, parliamentarians, and senior officials from Bangladesh has increased significantly.

The end of the year 2013 witnessed a visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina to Saudi Arabia on Nov. 21-24 as the royal guest of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to perform Umrah and Jiarrah. She led a 60-member delegation, which included the sister of the prime minister Mrs. Rehana Siddique and former Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni, MP, and high officials from different ministries.

Moreover, in 2013 only, there were as many as seven ministerial visits from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia. Ministerial level visits in 2013 only include the Bangladesh Foreign Minister’s visits to Saudi Arabia in April, May, June and August, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister’s visits to Saudi Arabia in July, and Cultural Affairs Minister’s visit in March. During the visit of the foreign minister to the Kingdom on May 4-5, 2013, she had a fruitful and effective bilateral meeting with her counterpart Prince Saud Al Faisal. In addition to bilateral meetings with her Saudi counterpart, she called on Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, Labor Minister Adel Fakeih during the visit. The foreign minister also handed over a letter from the prime minister of Bangladesh addressed to the King during the visit.

The visit of the foreign minister was the most significant and successful in enhancing our existing bilateral relations. Immediately after her visits, the Saudi government declared general amnesty to the expatriate Bangladesh nationals on May 10, 2013 and Bangladesh nationals were allowed to transfer iqamas and change profession.

Dr. Dipu Moni, MP, also paid another official visit to the Kingdom on June 18-22, 2013. During her visit she had a meeting with the Acting Foreign Minister Dr. Nizar Obaid Madani and handed over two letters of thanks addressed to the King by the president and the prime minister of Bangladesh for allowing Bangladeshi workers to correct their employment status and change their Iqamas. In the meeting, matters relating to mutual interests to both the countries were discussed and the foreign minister also requested him to extend the amnesty period to the expatriate Bangladesh nationals.

The foreign minister also met the Second Deputy Prime Minister Prince Muqrin and requested an extension for the amnesty period.

Moreover, the visit of the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, MP, to the Kingdom on July 6-12, 2013 added impetus to our bilateral relations in the field of manpower export from Bangladesh. The two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations with special focus on cooperation in the field of human resources. The issue of iqama transfer for all Bangladesh workers in the Kingdom figured prominently in the discussions. Both the sides identified and acknowledged areas of mutual concern and were convinced that joint efforts would help overcome the existing challenges and broaden the horizon of cooperation.

The visits of the foreign minister and expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment minister were also very significant and successful in enhancing our existing bilateral relations. In response to their requests, the Saudi government extended the general amnesty for another four months (up to Nov. 3, 2013) to the expatriate Bangladesh nationals.

Under the provision of the general amnesty in Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh nationals were given opportunity to legalize their status by transferring their iqamas and changing profession during the period from May 11 to Nov. 3, 2013. As a result, 7,99,186 Bangladesh nationals benefitted out of which, 4,36,473 changed their sponsors, 3,30,975 changed their professions and 31,738 returned to Bangladesh on final exit during general amnesty.

The Bangladesh Minister for Cultural Affairs Abul Kalam Azad had an official visit to the Kingdom on March 11-14, 2013 to attend the opening ceremony of the yearlong celebrations to mark Madinah as the capital of Islamic culture.
The high level visit from the Saudi side in 2013 started with the visit of the Speaker of the Shoura Council Dr. Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, who led a 13-member delegation to visit Bangladesh on Jan. 6-9 2013.
A high level Saudi delegation comprising representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Labor visited Bangladesh from March 30 to April 4, 2013 in connection with the status of human resources of Bangladesh to be exported to the Kingdom.

The high level visit between the two countries in 2014 started with the visit of the Bangladesh Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mohammed Nasim, MP, who led a 6-member delegation for his official visit to Saudi Arabia on Feb. 7-9 2014. During the visit the minister had a bilateral meeting with his Saudi counterpart, Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah. The visit of the health minister to the Kingdom was very significant and provided opportunity to exchange views with his Saudi counterpart. The visit set a stage for fresh thrust in our existing bilateral relations, particularly in the field of health sector cooperation.

On Feb. 16, 2014, a bilateral meeting at the level of ministers between the two countries was held to sign the Haj management agreement. After the meeting, Bangladesh Minister for Religious Affairs Principal Motiar Rahman, MP, and Saudi Haj Minister Dr. Bandar Bin Hajjar signed the Haj agreement with the provision of 1,01,758 pilgrims to perform Haj from Bangladesh in the year 2014.

Bangladesh State Minister for Youth and Sports Biren Sikder, MP, led a 3-member delegation to attend the 2nd Islamic Conference of Youth and Sports Ministers held in Jeddah on March 17-18, 2014.

All these visits have added new momentum and generated greater enthusiasm to the existing close relations between the two countries. These exchanges of high-level visits also signify the intention of both the governments to encourage and maintain cooperation across all sectors between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia.

The 10th session of Saudi-Bangladesh Joint Commission (JC) meeting, which was the first JC meeting in almost five years, has provided further impetus in our bilateral relations. The 10th session of the Joint Commission (JC) meeting, which was held on Feb. 25-26, 2013 in Riyadh, provided a platform for multifarious engagement with the Kingdom in securing tangible benefits in terms of economy, trade, investment, education, culture, human resource development, manpower cooperation and other development cooperation.

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have signed several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)/Agreements to facilitate collaboration in diverse fields over the years. Bilateral relations particularly in the field of trade and commerce have received a new thrust after the recent signing of the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement. Another epoch-making agreement on Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments has been finalized and is expected to be inked shortly and this treaty would herald a new era in facilitating investments in both the countries.

Saudi Arabia is one of Bangladesh’s longstanding development partners. Since formal recognition of Bangladesh by Saudi Arabia in 1975, bilateral relations between the two countries have grown steadily in depth and dimension. Beyond the ambit of political relations, cooperation between the two countries in economic fields has developed substantially. Saudi Arabia has been consistently extending financial and technical assistance to Bangladesh in various fields. Bangladesh has received economic assistance in various sectors including rural infrastructure development, health, rural electrification, communication, irrigation, disaster/post disaster relief and rehabilitation in the form of grants and loans.
Bilateral trade between the two countries increased steadily over the last couple of years and there is a potential for further improvement in bilateral trade as two countries have much to offer to each other. According to latest statistics, the annual two-way trade rose to $961.34 million in FY 2012-13 as against $922.33 million in the FY 2011-12. The Kingdom mainly imports readymade garments (knits and woven), frozen food, dry food, fresh vegetables, various spices and curry powder, melamine items while it exports oil, petro-chemicals and fertilizers in large quantities.

Saudi largescale investments in Bangladesh basically started with the establishment of Saudi Bangladesh Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company (SABINCO) in 1984 with its headquarters in Dhaka. The company was set up with a view to promoting Saudi investments in Bangladesh. It has so far financed 50 projects in 11 sub sectors including textile, cement, fisheries and chemicals.

A number of Saudi entrepreneurs have already shown keen interest to invest in power generation plant in Bangladesh. There is also scope for Saudi investments in information technology, manufacturer of ceramic products, pharmaceuticals, and the development of tourism projects in Bangladesh.

Saudi Arabia has also been providing invaluable assistance over the years towards our country’s socio-economic development. Bangladesh has benefited from the close and productive cooperation with the Kingdom in diverse fields. Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has been providing economic assistance to Bangladesh since 1975. Bangladesh has so far received a total of SR1,566.31 million as economic assistance from Saudi Arabia. The priority sectors of the SFD assisted projects are infrastructure development, roads & railways, irrigation, rural electrification, fertilizer, health, etc. The construction of Shitalakha Bridge project worth SR168.75 million, construction of Maghbazar–Mouchak flyover project worth SR200.00 million and construction of Shikalbaha 225 MW dual fuel project worth SR200.00 million are SFD assisted ongoing projects in Bangladesh. These projects have been seen as a sign of renewed attention of the Kingdom to the socio-economic development of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh always attaches great importance on its ties with the government and the people of Saudi Arabia. The existing brotherly relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, which is based on common Islamic values and mutual respect, have been further cemented by the valuable contributions of our expatriates, who have been playing very important and significant role to the economic development of the two brotherly countries.

The Kingdom is still the most valued destination for the Bangladesh workforce despite all odds and obstacles in the field of manpower cooperation. Around 1.2 million Bangladesh nationals are now employed in the Kingdom, which positively contributes to enhanced people to people contacts. They develop an understanding and appreciation of Saudi values, traditions and customs.

The Bangladesh government has adopted a proactive, concerted and action-oriented comprehensive policy guideline considering the importance of the export of human resources to the national development of Bangladesh. Taking this into consideration, the government has undertaken multifaceted steps and programs to expand the scope for overseas employment opportunities and to promote transparency and ensure qualitative changes to the recruitment process. The aims of this policy are also to minimize migration costs of sending Bangladesh workforce to world labor market and create an environment for accessibility of aspirant workers to migration process from all areas of the country.
As a result of the timely and target oriented policy of the government, Bangladesh workforce in the world labor market has now not only earned admiration for the country but contributed significantly to the national development of the country. More than 8.9 million Bangladesh workforce including skilled and semi-skilled, professionals like doctors, engineers, paramedics, nurses, teachers, bankers, IT workers spread worldwide including Saudi Arabia with their competence.

These excellent relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia may be attributed to the fact that both countries share many common perspectives, values and commitments. Today there is contact between an impressive range of individuals and institutions in almost every sector of our two societies. Bangladesh hopes to build on the achievements of the past to set up a future of even closer co-operation and understanding both at the bilateral and multilateral levels between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia and their peoples to herald a defining moment of raising our relationship to a new pedestal in the coming years.


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