Bangladesh has invited the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh, particularly in the fields of infrastructure, power, energy, tourism and hospitality.
"We consider investment from the UAE to our country as a priority," said Law Minister Anisul Huq.
He came up with the call recalling Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to the UAE in October 2014 when she had fruitful discussions with the leadership of the UAE to expand bilateral relations in investment and other economic activities between our two countries.
The minister was addressing a reception hosted by Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Bangladesh Saed Mohammed Al-Mheiri at his residence on Sunday night, marking the 47th UAE National Day.
Politicians, diplomats stationed in Dhaka, businesspeople and journalists attended it.
Minister Huq said the UAE is a time-tested friend of Bangladesh and the two countries are working closely in the UN, OIC and other regional and international fora and supporting each other's causes.
He said, "We're confident that the firmly-established Bangladesh-UAE brotherly relations will continue to move forward in the coming years."
The minister said cooperation in the areas of human resources is the key sector of cooperation between the two countries.
He said the UAE is hosting a significant number (800,000) of Bangladeshi nationals who are contributing to development of both the countries.
Bangladesh and the UAE signed an MoU on recruitment of domestic workers from Bangladesh in last April 2018 which, the minister said, will further intensify the bilateral cooperation.
"The UAE side has also reopened the process of recruitment of professionals from Bangladesh, including doctors, nurses, and engineers, along with other skilled and semiskilled workforces," he said.
UAE Ambassador Al-Mheiri said Bangladesh and the UAE share close people-to-people bond, similar national realities and complementary development goals.
He was quoted by UNB news agency as saying the relationship between the two countries is based on the principles of cooperation and mutual respect which has reached the level of "strategic partnership" between the two countries and people in recent years.
Al-Mheiri said the UAE adopted an active approach to diplomacy with a marked openness across the world establishing an extensive network of relations with various countries around the world.
The Ambassador noted that the UAE is actively involved in the fight against extremism and terrorism, a key element in the country's determined efforts to ensure its national security and enhance international security.
The UAE has accomplished important achievements in this regard, both through military participation in Islamic and international alliances and the enactment of local laws to fight against terrorism and its causes.
