On the occasion of National and Independence Day of Bangladesh I extend my warm greetings and felicitations to all Bangladeshis living in the Kingdom. The day is being observed in Bangladesh and by all Bangladeshis all over the world with due fervor, solemnity and a fresh vow to take the country to the new heights of development. On this day I respectfully remember the contribution of all the freedom fighters and pay homage to all those who made supreme sacrifices for the liberation of the country. On this auspicious day I have the pleasure and honor to convey my sincere greetings and thanks to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz and the leadership of the Kingdom for their role in the sustenance and development of the existing friendly relationship between our two countries.
Bangladesh, the third largest Muslim country of the world with 140 million people enjoys a special relationship and understanding with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The prudent, pragmatic and liberal policies of the Kingdom made it possible for the employment of a large number of Bangladeshis in the Kingdom who not only provides the human capital for various development projects, but also establishes the linkages between the two people at different levels of the society to exchange and strengthen the common values and tradition, thus cementing the bonds of friendship and brotherhood.
The common faith and shared values are the hallmark of relationship between the two countries.
Bangladesh, a country of South Asia, is recognized today as a model of liberal democracy where all segments of population of differing faiths enjoy complete political freedom, religious liberty and civil rights in an environment of excellent interfaith harmony. The present emergency rule invoked in accordance with the constitutional provisions to administer the country is a temporary phenomenon. The indomitable spirit and resilience of Bangladeshis to survive the vagaries of nature and challenges of life are known worldwide. The country has achieved steady progress in developing its institutions.
The social, political, economic and military institutions of the country are being developed with the participation of people of all segments of the society in a free and competitive environment. The social and human development of Bangladesh has made a significant progress in education, health, poverty alleviation, women empowerment and other socio-economic sectors.
The country has become a reference point for its innovative ideas in micro-credit and micro financing for social business and poverty alleviation. The Nobel Peace Prize awarded last year to Bangladesh’ Dr. Mohammad Yunus, the banker to the poor and his Grameen Bank is a fitting recognition of the country and its progress toward peace and development. Bangladesh’ commitment to global peace and security can be identified by its contribution as one of the highest troop contributing countries to UN Peacekeeping Operation.
The geo-strategic location of Bangladesh between South and Southeast Asia, its abundant human resources of hardworking, semi-skilled and skilled labor force and proven energy resources and reserves of high quality natural gas and coal have given the country a competitive edge for economic development over many other developing countries. 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 percent 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. Major export items of Bangladesh are Textile and Ready Made Garments including knitwear and woven garments, pharmaceuticals, leather And leather products, jute and jute products, frozen fish, tea, ceramics, handicrafts, agro-products, software and ICT products, electronics and light Engineering and toiletries and cosmetics.
During the last couple of years Saudi-Bangladesh bilateral trade has been on the increase, albeit not achieving full potentials. The single country trade fair of Bangladesh products held in Riyadh last year and the visit of trade delegation at the same time to various chambers of the Kingdom would I hope add momentum to the two way trade between our two countries.
Bangladesh today has become a coveted place for investment by the investors from home and abroad due to the successful implementation of an investment friendly regime 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 and American 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. 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, finalized after a protracted negotiation of two years and approved by the respective cabinets are to be ceremonially signed at an opportune moment. These along with other measures would, I hope, encourage Saudi investors to invest in Bangladesh. I may mention here that the proposal of Prince Bandar ibn Mohammad ibn Abdur Rahman Al-Saud 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 the government of Bangladesh. The 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 his investment anytime in future.
On this auspicious occasion, I commend Bangladesh community living in the Kingdom for their role in upholding the image and interest of our country and furthering the cause of our relationship with better understanding and appreciation of common values and systems. I am confident that Saudi-Bangladesh relationship will continue to develop and diversify in future.
