He came up with the assurance when a Saudi business delegation made a courtesy call on him at Bangabhaban in the evening and expressed their keen interest to invest US$3 billion in Bangladesh’s power and energy sector.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, President’s Press Secretary Joynal Abedin said Chairman of ACWA Power of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Abunyyan led the eight-member high-powered business delegation of two Saudi Arabian companies - AWCA and Aramco Trading.
During the meeting, they apprised the President that they will invest about US$3 billion to build an efficient and modern power plant and also solar system in Bangladesh.
Abunyyan hoped that this investment will encourage others to invest here in the future.
He said the Saudi Arabia always considers Bangladesh’s manpower as a key resource.
Welcoming the delegation, the President said Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh currently have excellent relations and Bangladesh evaluates the existing good ties with Saudi Arabia as a special one.
Mentioning the recent visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Saudi Arabia and the visit of Saudi High-powered delegation to Bangladesh, he said these visits helped strengthen bilateral relations and investment between the two countries.
Through the visits between the two countries, the bilateral relations will be expanded gradually and turned into a multilateral one in the days to come.
Other delegation members were VP of Aramco Trading M Abdul Salam Al-Hazmi, AWCA Power CEO Paddy Padmanathan and AWCA Power Chief Investment Officer Rajit Nanda.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Private Industry and Investment Advisor Salman F Rahman, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Chairman Sirajul Islam and Ambassador of Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia Golam Moshi, secretaries concerned to the President and Foreign Ministry senior officials were, among others, present at the meeting.