By Golam Moshi* And Dr. Md. Nazrul Islam*

At the outset, we would like to convey our heartiest congratulations and deep gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on completion of his very successful three years since ascending the throne in 2015.

We also pay our tribute to Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on this very auspicious occasion.

Bangladesh is now looking for greater engagements with Saudi Arabia, particularly in the areas of trade and investment apart from ongoing partnership in many areas including manpower.

The government and the people of Bangladesh consider the leadership of King Salman very vital for peace, prosperity and stability of Muslim Ummah since he is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of Islam.

We have witnessed a clear and visible signs of the pragmatic and visionary role of the Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman in his extraordinary efforts in uplifting Saudi society and economy.

Two official visits by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the Kingdom, first in June 2016 for bilateral meeting and second in May 2017 to attend Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, have played critical role in deepening of our relations.

Bangladesh is now considered a role model for the Muslim world being successful in consolidating democracy, pioneering role in UN peacekeeping operations, consistent economic growth, women empowerment and successfully combating terrorism and violent extremism under the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina participated in the Riyadh Summit to express solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a member of the Islamic Alliance to fight terrorism and violent extremism. Prime Minister reiterated firm commitment to fight this menace and conveyed her readiness to support the Kingdom in this endeavor.

Bangladesh was the second fastest growing economy in the world (in 2016) with more than 7% growth.

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia increasingly recognize mutually beneficial potential to expand bilateral economic cooperation across a range of areas.

During the visit of Prime Minister Hasina in June 2016, the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) organized a business session where leading Saudi businessmen took part and 10 leading Bangladesh businessmen were present.

In the business session Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called for more investment and exploring business opportunities in Bangladesh. She also offered a special economic zone out of 100 special economic zones to Saudi investors. As a follow up to the invitation of Bangladesh Prime Minister, a 21-member high-powered Saudi business delegation led by President of International Marketing Investment Company Group Ltd Moshabab Abdulla Alkahtani comprising representatives from the construction, real estate, construction materials, agriculture, tourism, food and beverage sectors visited Bangladesh from Dec. 4-7, 2017. They had fruitful interactive sessions with their Bangladeshi counterparts as well as meetings with Hon’ble Finance Minister and Commerce Minister of Bangladesh. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed at the meeting between FBCCI and Alfanar Energy, a leading manufacturer and construction company of Saudi Arabia.

According to the memorandum, the Alfanar Energy will establish a 40-100 MW solar power plant in Bangladesh and FBCCI will assist in establishing the project. After the inaugural session, the business entrepreneurs met at Business-to-Business (B2B) meeting.

Our Finance Minister AMA Muhith sought more Saudi Arabian investments in infrastructure, power and other sectors in Bangladesh, saying the government is providing all sorts of supports to the investors.

Bangladesh is an ideal destination for Saudi entrepreneurs as it has a dynamic young talented Muslim population (almost 90% population is Muslim) with attractive incentives. Potential investors may explore enormous investment opportunities in different sectors such as tourism industry, IT, ship-building, pharmaceuticals, etc. in Bangladesh.

For several decades, Bangladesh has been meeting the need of workers in several work streams in the Saudi labor market. The Bangladeshi migrant community has established their credentials working with considerable appreciation of Saudi people. In the process, they are also a part of contemporary Saudi economic growth. As of date, more than one and a half million Bangladeshi professionals and workers are living in the Kingdom. Many of them have also moved along as entrepreneurs in the Kingdom. In recent meetings between Bangladesh and Saudi officials it was agreed to stress upon on the institutions, curricula, related facilities, etc. in Bangladesh vis-à-vis academic and professional qualifications while proceeding on future recruitment of Bangladeshi workers including professionals. It is a timely initiative by both the governments to have a transparent and robust recruitment mechanism for lowering migration cost.

Recently the government of Saudi Arabia has opened up investment opportunities for Bangladeshi entrepreneurs who can either invest solely or with Saudi partnership as Joint Venture projects in different areas such as aquaculture and fisheries, construction, human resources training, tourism and many more areas. Recently the Governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) — the Saudi Invest — expressed his willingness to support Bangladeshi investors coming to the Kingdom. SAGIA offers ‘advice and services to support interested parties from the initial planning stage to aftercare.

As we know that Saudi Arabia is vigorously pursuing the Vision 2030 which offers Bangladesh opportunities in new areas of engagements in all areas such as manpower, trade, investment, education, agriculture etc.

Similarly, Bangladesh’s Vision 2021 to become a Middle Income Country and the Vision 2041 to attain the status of a developed country warrants Bangladesh to work closely with the Kingdom towards fast-growing cooperation in all areas, particularly in trade and investment.

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia should opt for transformation of respective economies for the bright future of their people.

Bangladesh is ready to have a strategic partnership to promote the Saudi Vision 2030, which will be beneficial for the people of both the brotherly countries and the Muslim Ummah.

*Bangladesh Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

*Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Bangladesh, Riyadh

Authors could be contacted for any comments or further information to the email: mission.riyadh@mofa.gov.bd