Bangladesh inks 2 deals, 4 MoUs with KSA

Bangladesh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on Thursday signed two agreements and four MoUs for the development of various sectors of Bangladesh including power, and industrial sectors, reports UNB.

The documents were signed in presence of prime minister Sheikh Hasina at a ceremony at her office.

Visiting Saudi trade and investment minister Majid Bin Abdullah Al Qasaibi and economy and planning minister Mohammed Bin Mazyed Al-Twaijri were also present.

Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen, commerce minister Tipu Munshi, planning minister MA Mannan, PM's energy adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources Nasrul Hamid, PM's principal secretary Nojibur Rahman, executive chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Kazi M Aminul Islam, PMO secretary Sajjadul Hassan and Bangladesh ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam Moshi were, among others, present.

The instruments are an agreement on generation of 100-megawatt solar IPP; an agreement on manufacturing transformer and electricity devices; MoU on setting up of urea formaldehyde-85 plant; MoU on establishing Saudi Bangladesh institute of biomedical engineering and technology; and MoU on manufacturing cables.

The agreement on generation of 100 megawatts of solar IPP was signed between Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh Limited and Alfanar Company of Saudi Arab.

Managing director of Electricity Generation Company Arun Kumar Saha and vice president of Sales and Marketing of Alfanar Company Khalid bin Qabel Al Sulami inked the deal on behalf of their respective sides.

The agreement on manufacturing transformers and electricity devices was signed between General Electric Manufacturing Company Limited and Engineering Dimension.

Managing director of General Electric Manufacturing Company Limited Sultan Ahmed Bhuiyan and chief executive officer Mohammad bin Najeeb Al Hajji signed the deal on behalf of Bangladesh and the KSA respectively.

Earlier, Saudi commerce and investment minister Majed Bin Abdullah Al Kassabi has said the relationship between Bangladesh and Saudi sees a "new chapter" through their presence in Dhaka to find wider investment opportunities.

The Saudi minister said his country is serious in enhancing business ties with Bangladesh.

He made the remarks while addressing a plenary session of the joint ministerial level meeting with Bangladesh on investment held at a city hotel.

Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal and prime minister's industry and investment adviser Salman F Rahman also spoke on the occasion. Executive chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Kazi M Aminul Islam was also present.

A big delegation comprising two top Saudi ministers -- commerce and investment minister Majed Bin Abdullah Al Kassabi and economy and Planning Minister Mohammed Bin Mazyad Al-Twaijri -- arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday night by a special flight to discuss the investment issues.

Senior officials of Saudi Public Investment Fund, Saudi Fund for Development and top officials of Saudi companies are among the 35-member Saudi delegation, according to the the foreign ministry.

Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal led the Bangladesh side at the Bangladesh-Saudi Arabia bilateral meeting being held with special focus on investment.

The relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have reached a new height in recent time by consecutive four successful visits of prime minister Sheikh Hasina to Saudi Arabia in the last three years, officials said.

During her meetings with Saudi leadership, it was identified that despite having huge potentials, the two countries are far behind in exploring the opportunities for cooperating in the field of trade and investment, they said.

During the last visit of the prime minister to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in October last year, the focus was on expanding cooperation in the field of investment.

On 17 October last year, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia signed five Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to enhance cooperation in chemical, steel and solar power sectors between the two countries.

The MoUs were inked after the meeting of prime minister Sheikh Hasina with the Saudi business community, including leaders of the Council of Saudi Chamber and Riyadh Chamber of Commerce, at King Saud Palace.