Will work together to expand cooperation with Bangladesh, says Saudi FM

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud on Wednesday said they are extremely optimistic about the future of Bangladesh and the two countries will work together to expand their cooperation.

“I think there is a lot to be done,” he told reporters after his meeting with Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen at a city hotel, noting that the two countries have a clear target to work together to that end.

Responding to a question, the Saudi foreign minister said they are committed to a “stable” oil market and all indications say there is no concern regarding the oil supply.

He said that they are “very optimistic” about the future of this relationship with Bangladesh. “We just had an excellent political consultation.”

Most importantly, he said they explored how they can expand the partnership as the two countries enjoy a historic strong relationship.

“We’re committed to building up on this strong foundation to a much broader partnership. We see significant interest of the Saudi companies’ presence here," he said.

Foreign Minister Momen said they are very proud to see this high level political consultation for the first time.

He said some 20 Saudi companies have shown interest to invest in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has assured of providing required facilities in the economic zones, he said.

Momen said they also discussed food security issues noting that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has put a lot of emphasis on this.

He said the Saudi side assured of hassle-free clearance of visas for 100 percent hajj applicants.

The Saudi foreign minister arrived in Dhaka on a brief official visit onTuesday evening.

He met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Gonobhaban on Wednesday morning.

The Saudi FM left Dhaka on Wednesday afternoon wrapping up his less than 24-hour visit.