On this auspicious occasion of the National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I extend heartfelt congratulations to the Custodians of Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Muhammed Bin Salman and the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1975 Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have maintained cordial and closer bonds of friendship characterized by mutual understanding and deep fraternity. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the most important and most valued destination for the Bangladesh workforce, who contribute significantly to the national development of both countries.

Both countries share a common perception on many regional and international issues, particularly the Islamic Ummah issues. The existing bonds of friendship between the two countries have been further cemented by ever-deepening bilateral ties in the fields of economy, trade, investment, defense, culture, education, workforce etc. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia now stands as one of Bangladesh's most important bilateral partners; the relationship dynamics of both countries have evolved from one-dimensional cooperation to multi-layered cooperation over the years to reach the present level of maturity.

We sincerely appreciate the proactive and dynamic role of the Crown Prince in advancing the Saudi 'Vision 2030', which offers Bangladesh to explore new areas of engagement in human resources, trade, investment, education and agriculture. To reap the full benefits of this cooperation, exchanging visits of economic and investment-related delegations between the two countries and utilizing economic, cultural, and defence cooperation opportunities would play a pivotal role. This will assist in identifying the priorities and opportunities of trade and investment between the two countries, thereby achieving the untapped potentials of two-way trade and investment.

The excellent relations between Bangladesh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are attributed to the fact that both countries share common perspectives, Islamic values, global peace and harmony, and a commitment to concerted bilateral cooperation toward advancing economic activities and issues of mutual interest. Our Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina undertook five official visits to the Kingdom between June 2016 to May 2019. All these visits created a new dimension in our bilateral relations. His Majesty King Salman termed "Bangladesh as a top Islamic country in respect of its relationship" during the meeting with Bangladesh Prime Minister in 2016 and 2018.

This year, we held our first political consultation and agreed to strengthen our relationship further. We decided to build up our relations on the achievements of the recent productive engagements to set up a future of even closer cooperation and understanding at the bilateral and multilateral levels between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. We would like to see the people of both countries herald a defining moment of raising our relationship to a new height in the coming days, particularly in the areas of security, trade, investment, education, health, agriculture, climate change and environmental protection, and manpower.

Once again, I convey my gratitude to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for hosting almost 2.5 million Bangladeshi nationals in the Kingdom. I intend to work actively with the Government of the Kingdom and the country's private sector to strengthen our friendship further and improve investment and trade relations. I wish to establish Bangladesh as the favored destination for Saudi investments and as a trusted brand for recruiting Bangladeshi skilled and semi-skilled workers in realizing Bangladesh vision 2041 and Saudi vision 2030.

Long Live the Bangladesh-Saudi Arabia relationship.