Bangladesh expects Saudi Arabia to invest $35bn in infrastructure projects, its finance minister said on Thursday after meeting a visiting Saudi delegation. He did not give a time frame but bilateral trade was currently only $1.4bn a year, Saudi Commerce and Investment Minister and delegation head Majid bin Abdullah al-Qasabi said.
Ties between impoverished Bangladesh and oil-rich Saudi Arabia, both Muslim-majority countries, have strengthened in recent years and officials have agreed to form a joint council to consider investment. ‘We are here to explore all possibilities to expand business and investment, and I can assure you that we want to become the true partner of Bangladesh in developing trade and investment,” Qasabi said.
