Saudi Arabian ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yousef Essa Alduhailan on Wednesday said that Saudi Arabia was eager to strengthen its relations with Bangladesh in trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, alongside its ongoing humanitarian cooperation.
The envoy made the remarks while announcing the arrival of 100 tonnes of dates as a gift from the custodian of the two holy mosques under the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre.
At a ceremony held at the Saudi embassy in Dhaka, the ambassador handed over the dates to officials from the disaster management and relief as well as the foreign ministries.
The dates will be distributed among the poorest, vulnerable communities and flood-affected people across Bangladesh, the envoy said.
Officials from the ministries said that 70 tonnes of dates had already been received and were being preserved for distribution, which was expected to take place before the Ramadan.
Essa Yousef also expressed optimism about resolving the long-standing passport issues of 69,000 individuals who travelled to Saudi Arabia with Bangladeshi passports following Bangladesh鈥檚 independence.
鈥榃e hope that this issue will be resolved soon,鈥� he said, referring to ongoing positive discussions between Bangladesh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The envoy assured that these individuals would not be sent back to Bangladesh, as efforts were underway to regularise their legal status.
Highlighting the Saudi Arabia鈥檚 commitment to facilitating employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers, the envoy noted that the Saudi embassy had issued over 2.2 million work visas in the past three years.
