Dhaka: Bangladesh's ambassador to Riyadh said on Saturday that the country is working to improve ties with the GCC and is getting ready to hold ministerial-level discussions with the group.
In November of last year, Bangladesh and the GCC, an intergovernmental economic union with its headquarters in Riyadh and consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, signed a memorandum outlining a framework for cooperation.
The agreement was reached between former GCC secretary general Dr. Nayem Falah Al-Hajraf and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen on the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue regional security conference in Bahrain.
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"We have worked to increase our cooperation with the GCC. We signed an MoU with the GCC in this regard in November. According to Bangladeshi Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Javed Patwary, this MoU establishes a baseline for how to proceed.
The envoy met this week with Jasem Al-Budaiwi, the GCC's new leader who assumed office earlier this year, in order to advance the cooperation. In September, the two talked about hosting a ministerial-level gathering.
"Our foreign minister and the secretary general of the GCC will preside over a ministerial meeting. I suggested holding the meeting as a side meeting during the UNGA in September in New York," Patwary said.
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The ambassador anticipates discussions with GCC and Bangladeshi officials ahead of the meeting to create a shared action plan.
"Either Dhaka or Riyadh could host it, but due to the UNGA's September date, there are time restrictions. In that case, a virtual meeting at this level may also be held. We presented GCC with every option possible," he said.
"We will move forward with future works based on that,"
Bangladesh has been working to forge closer ties with the Gulf states in order to take advantage of collaboration centred on established fields like energy and food security as well as a developing field called culture.
In order to strengthen cooperation, we identified a number of priority areas, including trade, business, energy security, agriculture, food security, and climate change. Aside from that, culture is another crucial factor in fostering cooperation. With regard to cultural advancements, all GCC members are moving quickly, according to Patwary.
Another significant opportunity is for both sides to increase their investment. There may be a mutual exchange of commodities, and we are concentrating on boosting our trade with GCC countries. We anticipate improved cooperation in each of these areas.
Bangladesh is working to strengthen its business ties, particularly with Saudi Arabia, as it pursues closer GCC ties. Since March, when a delegation led by Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, the Saudi Arabian minister of commerce, visited Dhaka, opportunities have increased.
Saudi Arabia entered Bangladesh's energy, port, and agricultural industries through the signing of several investment agreements, and the two countries' chambers of commerce established a joint council to manage their bilateral business relations.
Last month, Essa Al-Duhailan, the Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh, told Arab News that a delegation of prominent businessmen from Bangladesh was scheduled to visit the Kingdom soon
