Salman, Hasina discuss bilateral ties

JEDDAH — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman received Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed on Sunday at Al-Salam Palace here, Saudi Press Agency reported. King Salman welcomed the Bangladeshi prime minister. Sheikh Hasina expressed thanks and appreciation to the King for the hospitality and warm welcome she was accorded. They then discussed bilateral relations and aspects of cooperation between the two countries in different fields. They reviewed the latest regional and international developments. The reception was attended by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, and Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and emir of Makkah Province, among others In other meetings, Sheikh Hasina received at her guest residence here the Vice President of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank Dr. Ahmed Tiktik. Following the meeting, Dr. Tiktik said that the bank has, since its inception, provided Bangladesh with loans worth $20 billion, including more than $1 billion worth of projects in the field of energy, education, rural development and urban development currently under construction. Tiktik added that the Bangladeshi government had received a gift project from the late King Abdullah worth $130 million to build 90 resorts and schools in addition to 83 schools and ten movable clinics in remote areas expected to ready next year. Earlier on Sunday, Sheikh Hasina also received Talal Ahmed Al-Aqeel, adviser to the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance for Haj, Umrah and Visit. During the meeting, they discussed matters of mutual concern, particularly pertaining to Islamic affairs. In a separate meeting Sunday, Sheikh Hasina received the Secretary General of the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation Iyad Bin Amin Madani. Following the meeting, Madani said that the meeting provided a chance to present the work being done by OIC, last of which was the Islamic extraordinary summit held in Jakarta as well as the ordinary summit in Istanbul, resulting in the establishment of a new food security panel. He said the meeting also dealt with the forthcoming summit on science and technology and highlighted the OIC initiative to hold a reconciliatory meeting for political foes in Iraq, and a meeting for Afghanistan scholars to be held in Makkah and Madinah. Madani said the meeting conveyed to Sheikh Hasina the OIC interest to bring an end to the refugee influx into Bangladesh from Myanmar. The meetings were attended by Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh Abdullah Bin Hajjaj Al-Mitairi and Sheikha Hasina's official accompanying delegation. — SPA