Saudi companies plan to invest more than USD10 billion in Bangladesh in coming years, said Saudi Ambassador Essa Yousef Essa Alduhailan in Dhaka on Thursday.
He said it while briefing journalists on the projects of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre projects in Bangladesh.
Prominent Saudi companies including Aramco, Aqua Power, Red Sea Gate are going to invest in several projects in different sectors, he added.
The envoy said that his country is going to sign several MoUs on defence and security cooperation in a bid to strengthen the existing military ties.
The envoy informed that a high level Saudi delegation is coming to Bangladesh soon to discuss in details on how to expand cooperation in different areas including energy cooperation.
Referring to cooperation in manpower sector he said his country accommodate over 2.6 million Bangladeshi workers who provide over $3.5 billion annually.
“Every day we issue 5000 to 8000 visas to Bangladeshis from our embassy” the Ambassador said.
About the centre he said, the King Salman humanitarian aid and relief centre was established on May 13 2015 to serve as the kingdom's humanitarian representative to the rest of the world.
The centre's purpose is to provide humanitarian and relief aid outside of the kingdom. Saudi Arabia is the third largest donor country worldwide.
“The King Salman humanitarian aid and relief centre team is here today to monitor the ongoing projects in Bangladesh. The team is collaborating in Cox's Bazar with UNICEF and the Islamic Development Bank, who examined the project's progress to provide primary health care for Rohingya health and nutrious” he added.
“Additionally, the voluntary medical initiative to fight blindness and its causes in Bangladesh was integrated on Monday by the King Salman humanitarian aid and relief centre” he said.
“The King Salman centre’s plan for this year include 100 projects under the Saudi volunteer programme, to fight blindness in more than 30 nations”
Bangladesh received a significant amount of funding in seven projects of which three have already been carried out and the rest will be in the near future, he said.
