State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam -File photo

DHAKA, Aug 4, 2026 (BSS) - State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said today said Saudi Arabia has expressed strong interest in investing in Bangladesh in a wide range of sectors and recruiting more skilled Bangladeshi workers. 

"Saudi Arabia is interested in investing in Bangladesh in sectors where it has significant expertise. These issues featured prominently in our discussions," she said. 

The state minister made the remark after a meeting between visiting Saudi Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Eng. Waleed Abdul Karim Al-Khereiji and Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman held at the state guest Padma in the capital. 

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir and state minister Shama present during the meeting. 

During the meeting, Shama said that the Saudi delegation reaffirmed its confidence in Bangladesh's democratic government and its commitment to further strengthening bilateral ties.

"The visit was aimed at taking Bangladesh-Saudi Arabia relations to a new height. We had a very successful and fruitful discussion," she said.

Shama said Saudi Arabia expressed interest in investing in Bangladesh by utilizing its expertise in fisheries, food processing, energy, renewable energy, solar power, information technology and artificial intelligence.

The state minister said both sides also discussed enhancing labour cooperation, with Saudi Arabia showing interest in recruiting a larger number of skilled Bangladeshi workers.

"They have expressed interest in taking more skilled workers from Bangladesh, and this issue was discussed in detail during the meeting," she added.

Shama said Bangladesh expects to hold a joint investment meeting in Saudi Arabia in the near future, where senior officials, including the Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), are expected to participate.

She also said a Bangladesh-Saudi Political Consultation Meeting and a Joint Working Group meeting are expected to be held later this year to advance bilateral cooperation.

"This communication will continue. The visit has been highly productive, and they expressed their hope that Bangladesh-Saudi relations would reach an even stronger level under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman," she said.

Referring to high-level exchanges, the state minister said the Saudi Crown Prince has already invited Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to visit the Kingdom, while Bangladesh has extended an invitation to the Saudi Crown Prince to visit Dhaka.

Asked about passport-related issues involving Rohingyas residing in Saudi Arabia, she said such issues exist in several countries and were not a major focus of the discussions.

"Our missions in Jeddah and Riyadh are already working with the Saudi authorities to resolve those issues," she said.

Shama said the Saudi delegation repeatedly stressed that it wanted to broaden cooperation with Bangladesh beyond a single sector.

"They repeatedly said they do not want to remain confined to just one sector; they want Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh to work together across many sectors. That was the main focus of the discussions," she added.