Press Release Summary = Demonstrating an extraordinary gesture to Prime Minister
Begum Khaleda Zia during her two-day visit, Kuwait, the oil-rich Gulf state, assured
Bangladesh of supplying petroleum products \"on easy terms and conditions\".
Press Release Body = Demonstrating an extraordinary gesture to Prime Minister Begum
Khaleda Zia during her two-day visit, Kuwait, the oil-rich Gulf state, assured
Bangladesh of supplying petroleum products \"on easy terms and conditions\" when the
price is soaring up and agreed \"to lift all barriers\" to recruiting manpower from
here. In fact, the Prime Minister\'s brief visit has been crowned with total success
as she herself undertook the journey to request the Emir of Kuwait to grant
Bangladesh one year credit for purchasing oil from the Gulf state at a concessional
price that was immediately agreed and assured when the two leaders met and discussed
the adverse impact of rising oil prices in international market across the world
with particular reference to developing countries like Bangladesh.
The visit itself was considered a reflection and indication of special relationship
between the two brotherly Muslim countries, particularly in the spirit of helping
each other in the hours of need, as the Emir welcoming the Prime Minister as a
sister reiterated his country\'s strong desire and commitment to build up closer
friendly relations. Kuwaiti Oil Minister has been quoted as saying \"we are very
sympathetic to Bangladesh in its difficulties caused due to the rise in fuel prices\"
and that has been reflected through immediate positive response from the highest
level agreeing to supply fuel at easy terms and also at a concessional price. Apart
from the meeting with the Emir, Begum Zia had formal talks with Kuwaiti Prime
Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah who conveyed his
government\'s decision of lifting all barriers to recruiting manpower from Bangladesh
showing a gesture to her. At present more than 200,000 Bangladeshi expatriates are
working in Kuwait and contributing to the economy of both the countries, apart from
the currently deployed Bangladesh troops under UN Peace Mission there. With the
lifting of all barriers, now recruitment of more manpower ranging from highly
skilled professionals like engineers, doctors, nurses, paramedics, IT experts,
management consultants down to skilled, semiskilled and unskilled workforce from
Bangladesh would be wider and open. The Kuwait government is learnt to have
expressed its keen interest to recruit skilled manpower from Bangladesh.
Faced with severe constraints at this critical situation of soaring global fuel
price, Bangladesh has been in dire need to ensure supply of oil at easy terms and at
concession price for which the Prime Minister\'s Kuwait visit was timely and urgently
required. During the visit, the prime ministers of the two countries reviewed the
whole gamut of bilateral relations with a view to further promoting cooperation
through providing assistance and expanding trade and investment. It is happy to note
that Bangladesh and Kuwait agreed to increase trade, commerce and business relations
between them. It has also been mentioned that Kuwaiti fund would be available for
the proposed third Karnaphuli Bridge as negotiation is at the final stage. Kuwait
has also agreed to invest in a power generation plant to be set up in Chittagong. It
may be noted here that Kuwait's commitment of fund had made the construction of the
first East-West national electric grid connector in the late seventies possible. No
donor did want to commit fund first for that project which helped the transmission
of electricity generated from the Eastern grid at cheaper costs to the Western grid
where power generation was very costly due to non-availability of natural gas. The
two brotherly countries would go a long way through cooperation with each other for
their mutual benefit.
2022
