Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
A high-powered Saudi delegation, comprising the country’s two senior cabinet ministers among others, will arrive here on March 6 to finalise Riyadh’s multibillion dollar investment in Bangladesh.
The 34-member delegation, led by Economy and Planning Minister Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri and Commerce and Investment Minister Dr Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on Wednesday evening, officials said.
Several deputy ministers and representatives of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Saudi Fund for Development (SDF) are also in the delegation.
The visit by the high-powered Saudi delegation came close on the heels of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s trip to Pakistan and India.
The Crown Prince announced US$ 20 billion investment in Pakistan and US$ 30 billion in India during his visit to the South Asian countries.
Officials said, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia are expected to sign multibillion dollar investment deals and agreements related to diverse sectors, including power and energy, oil and gas, physical infrastructure, fertilizer, cement and aircraft repair facilities during the upcoming visit of the Saudi delegation.
Relevant government and investment promotion agencies have already prepared an investment proposal of US$10 billion considering the visit of the Saudi delegation.
“We will put forward 15-16 investment projects during the discussion with the Saudi delegation. These projects were picked up based on recommendations from concerned ministries and relevant government agencies,” Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Kazi M Aminul Islam told The New Nation yesterday.
He said, Dhaka and Riyadh will sign several deals and memorandum of understandings (MoUs) followed by the discussion to be held at the Hotel Intercontinental in Dhaka on Thursday morning.
Asked about the size of investment, BIDA Executive Chairman Kazi M Aminul Islam said, “It is difficult to estimate the amount right now. It will be billions if we consider the number of projects.”
The Prime Minister’s Office earlier directed BIDA to coordinate and monitor Saudi investment related issues in Bangladesh.
Kazi M Aminul Islam further said that the Gulf nation was keen to invest in commercially viable projects in Bangladesh taking advantage of a growing bilateral economic cooperation between Dhaka and Riyadh and higher return on investment here.
“Initially, the Saudi government eyed joint venture projects with Bangladesh’s state-owned agencies like Porjatan Corporation, BCIC and Teletalk. If their initial mission turns feasible, they may go for private sector engagement,” he added.
The relations between the two countries take a new course after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s four-day visit to Saudi Arabia in October 2018.
During the visit, Hasina had fruitful discussion with the Saudi government about investment in Bangladeshi projects and offered a special economic zone to Saudi investors.
The Saudi delegation will also meet President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The team is scheduled to leave Dhaka on Thursday night.
Saudi Arabia is the biggest labour market for Bangladesh and the country is now hosting more than one and a half million Bangladeshi expatriates who sent US$2.59 billion remittance home in the last fiscal (2017-18).
Bangladesh exports to Saudi Arabia stood at around $350 million in the last fiscal, whereas Bangladesh’s imports from the KSA reached around $750 million during the period.
Officials said that the bilateral trade between the two countries rose to US$ 1.0 billion in the last fiscal year, with opportunity to boost this trade volume further through enhancing trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.
Earlier, Bangladesh joined a Saudi Arabia-led 34-state Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism.
