Commerce minister urged Saudi to invest

MNA Business Desk: Tofail Ahmed, state commerce minister, has urged Saudi entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh. He referred to sectors such as skilled manpower, readymade garments (RMG), pharmaceutical and agriculture for further increasing trade and investment relations between the two friendly countries, reports the BSS.

He made the call while addressing a meeting with director general of Saudi Export Program (SEP) Ahmed M Al-Ghannam, who is also chairman of Saudi Bangladesh Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company (SABINCO), in Riyadh on Monday, said a press release in Dhaka.

The minister said both the countries will get more benefits by forming a joint technical committee for providing assistance to Bangladeshi exporters. They discussed issues of mutual interest particularly in respect of trade promotion between the two countries.

Tofail expressed his deep appreciation for M Al-Ghannam for the promotion of agricultural investment in Bangladesh and requested to consider financing Bangladeshi importers.

Earlier, in this year on 2March, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu on a visit to Saudi Arabia, has called upon his Saudi counterpart to recruit more skilled manpower from Bangladesh. The minister made the call while he was in a meeting with Saudi Commerce and Industries Minister Dr. Tawfig Fawzan Alrabiah in Saudi capital Riyadh.

Tofail Ahmed attended the 15th Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Trade Fair at Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Centre where governor of Riyadh Prince Faisal Bin Bandar was the chief guest.

The commerce minister had meetings with governor of Riyadh Faisal bin Bandar, Saudi commerce and investment minister Al Qassabi and OIC SG Iyad Madani. They exchanged views on common interests to promote trade and investment among the OIC countries.

The Saudi commerce and investment minister was convinced that businessmen of his country can explore further trade and investment opportunities with Bangladeshi businessmen and they can visit Bangladesh for this purpose. He requested the Bangladesh commerce minister to bring the issues to his notice for immediate action.