Recent years have witnessed a remarkable increase in Saudi-Bangladesh bilateral trade, observed the Bangladesh Ambassador Major General (Retd.) S.M. Ikramul Haque on the eve of his country’s independence and national day.
“The single country trade fair of Bangladesh products held in Riyadh last year and the subsequent meeting between the businessmen of the two countries have further boosted the two-way trade between our two nations, “ the envoy said in an interview with Arab News.He said his country has become a coveted place for investment by the investors from home and abroad due to the successful implementation of an investment friendly climate by the successive governments.
“An added attraction to the investors is the duty free and quota free access for all Bangladeshi products, from being a least developed country to Europe andAmerican countries.” The list of attraction also includes ready made plots provided to the intending investors in the Export Processing Zones established with all infrastructural and service facilities, fiscal and non-fiscal incentives and the existing legal framework for the protection of foreign investment.He pointed out that the Kingdom and Bangladesh enjoy deep-rooted relations built on common culture, faith, cordiality, friendship and mutual understanding.
Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia share common hopes and aspirations and share identical views on major political and economic issues in the international arena.Two bilateral agreements between Bangladesh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and on Promotion and Protection of Investment in our two countries that were approved by the cabinets are to be ceremonially signed at an opportune moment.
The Ambassador expressed hope that such measures would encourage Saudi investors to invest in BangladeshPrince Bandar ibn Mohammad ibn Abdur Rahman Al-Saud’s proposal for the purchase of majority shares of a public sector bank, The Rupali Bank, at a cost of over $ 450 million has been accepted by Bangladesh. The recent visit of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to Bangladesh to look for an investment opportunity in the hotel sector of the country has created much hope for a future investment.
Lucrative areas of investment in Bangladesh include power generation, information and communication technology (ICT), infrastructure development, tourism, telecommunication, agriculture, fertilizer plants, food processing and steel as well as other macro–level industries.Bangladesh boasts of world-class attractions and tourist facilities. Bangladesh is an heir to a rich cultural heritage possessing archaeological treasures. The envoy hoped that Saudis would visit Bangladesh for leisure and business to see the land’s resources for themselves.
The Saudi-Bangladesh Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company Ltd. (SABINCO), a joint venture founded by the two governments with a initial capital of $60 million, has been functioning in Dhaka for the past 16 years. The company has been executing a number of projects in Bangladesh.“The country has become a reference point for its innovative ideas in micro- credit and micro financing for social business and poverty alleviation,” he said, referring to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded last year to Bangladesh’s Dr. Mohammad Yunus. “The award has become a fitting recognition of the country and its progress towards peace and development. For the last two decades successive governments of Bangladesh have followed an open market policy and an export oriented private sector led growth strategy which resulted in doubling the growth in industries and manufacturing sector. The economic growth of the country is being sustained at over 6% during the last few years. Today Bangladesh’s export earnings are over $10 billion while the total size of the economy is over $60 billion.
Speaking about Haj, the Ambassador was full of praise for the Saudi authorities, who successfully handle a mammoth congregation of pilgrims who come in millions every year to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. Some 52,000 Bangladeshi pilgrims performed Haj last year, he added .
There are five Bangladeshi community schools in the Kingdom including two international schools in Riyadh, two in Jeddah and one in Dammam with a total of almost 5000 students. Two of the schools follow the Bangladesh curriculum while the other three follow the British curriculum leading to GCE and IGCSE examinations conducted by the universities of London and Cambridge.