Saudi Arabia committed to keep oil market stable: Saudi foreign minister

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan has said that his country is committed to maintaining stability in the oil market. There is no reason to be concerned about the oil supply.

He made this remark while replying to questions from newspersons regarding oil supply amid the Russia-Ukraine war at a hotel in the capital on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, he paid a courtesy call to prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Later, he had a closed-door meeting with Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen. They later sat for a political dialogue, first of a series of meetings scheduled ahead.

After the dialogue, the two ministers signed an agreement between the two countries to enhance cooperation in the customs sector and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Foreign Service Academies of the two countries.

After the dialogue and the signing, Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan said, “It’s a pleasure to be here in Bangladesh. I have met with the prime minister in the morning. Saudi Arabia is proud with the relationship between the two countries. We are quite hopeful about the future of our relationship. We have had a very fruitful discussion in the political dialogue. We have discussed a lot of issues. The most important thing is that we have a common vision for the future of the two countries. We believe that we can work together in establishing security and stability in our region as well as in the global arena.“

Regarding the political dialogue in Dhaka, he said, “In the meeting we have discussed how to expand the partnership between the two countries. The 2.5 million Bangladeshi workers in the country are contributing to our development.”

“Some Saudi companies have already invested billions of dollars in Bangladesh. We are committed to establishing a broader partnership. We are very optimistic about the future of Bangladesh. We are also seeing great interest among the Saudi companies working in Bangladesh. We have a lot more to do. We want to work with our partners to expand that potential,” he added.

The Saudi foreign minister further said, “The foreign minister of Bangladesh and I agreed that officials from both countries would work to advance cooperation on the basis of specific targets.

Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said, “This was the first time the two countries held a political dialogue. Saudi Arabia has decided to plant 5000 saplings in middle-east as well as in their own country. Of them, 1000 saplings will be planted in Saudi Arabia and the remaining in the other countries. We want to provide saplings as well as have interest in its maintenance.”

Regarding strengthening the financial cooperation between the two countries, the foreign minister said, “We have assured all sorts of assistance to encourage Saudi companies to invest in the economic zones of Bangladesh. Already 20 companies have expressed their interest. These projects will be implemented soon.”

Referring to the steps taken to stop harassment for Hajj pilgrims, Abdul Momen said, "I have also discussed the issue that the Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims should get visa approval from Bangladesh. Fortunately, 100 per cent of the Hajj pilgrims from Bangladesh this year will be granted visas. Therefore, there will be no scope of harassing the pilgrims this time. Saudi Arabia provided scholarships to some 265 Bangladeshi students. But only 65 students went to Saudi Arabia. We have to find out why the rest didn’t go there and have to work in this regard.”

Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday evening. He is scheduled to leave by noon on Wednesday.