Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Oct 17 (UNB) – Appreciating Bangladesh’s tremendous development unleashed under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Wednesday wished the continuation of the present government in the coming days.

The Saudi Kind made the wish when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had an audience with him, said Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque while briefing reporters after the meeting.

“The Saudi King repeatedly said Bangladesh has achieved huge development and its continuity needs to be maintained. Here the continuity means the continuation of the Prime Minister,” he said.

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, also the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, said if there is continuity, the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia will be strengthened further in all areas, the Foreign Secretary added.

About the meeting, Shahidul said a discussion was held amid a very cordial and warm environment.

When the Prime Minister reached the Royal Palace, the King himself came out to its gate to receive her, he said.

“The King told the Prime Minister that it (Royal Palace) is your house and you’re always welcome here,” the Foreign Secretary said, adding that there was elaborate banquet and the King was seen very cordial while talking to the Prime Minister over the lunch.

The Saudi King stressed the need for exploiting the opportunity on the cooperation between the brotherly countries in different sectors, including economic and cultural areas.

He highly lauded Bangladesh for its voice over the establishment of the Palestine people’s rights. “Bangladesh’s position is very respectful,” the Foreign Secretary quoted the King as saying.

The Prime Minister thanked the Saudi King for his cordial hospitality.

When she drew his attention to the problems of Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia, the King said it is his duty to resolve those as Bangladeshi expatriates contribute to the socio-economic development of Saudi Arabia, too.

The Prime Minister invited the Saudi King to visit Bangladesh and he accepted it, Shahidul Haque said.

Dhaka, Oct 17 (UNB) - Thailand’s Minister for the Prime Minister’s Office Hirunya Suchinai has commended Bangladesh for a decade of sustained growth and prosperity with a spectacular 7.86 percent economic growth this year, one of the highest in the region and looks towards a deeper economic engagement.

She made the remarks while inaugurating the daylong ‘Bangladesh Development Fair 2018’ in Bangkok on Wednesday.

The Bangladesh Development Fair 2018 was organized by the Embassy of Bangladesh in Bangkok to showcase Bangladesh’s globally acclaimed sustainable development successes in Thailand.

Organised at the UNESCAP premises, the Bangladesh Development Fair 2018 attracted a large crowd including senior Thai government officials, diplomats, academicians, local Thai people, UN officials and expatriate Bangladeshis living in Thailand.

ESCAP Deputy Executive Secretary and Officer-in -Charge Hangjoo Hamn also attended as special guest and praised Bangladesh’s for its recent eligibility for graduation from the  LDC Group while Gemma Van Halderen, Director for Statistics at the UNESCAP lauded Bangladesh for leveraging statistics and accurate national development data to showcase and record its Sustainable Development successes.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand Saida Muna Tasneem said they have designed the Bangladesh Development Fair 2018 in Thailand specially to bring the common Thai people, UN Offices in Bangkok and expatriate Bangladeshi community closer to the robust economic growth and social development achievements of our people under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“We also hope that the Development Fair showcasing the history of our Liberation War and our vibrant secular and inclusive culture will inspire and attract more Thai tourists and investors to visit Bangladesh,” said the Ambassador.

The daylong Fair organized by the Embassy of Bangladesh in Bangkok showcased 15 exhibition booths on Liberation War history and the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu, Bangladesh’s as Asia’s growth leader, Bangladesh the Role Model for social inclusion, Digital Bangladesh and Industry 4.0, Bangladesh Migrant Workers, pride of the nation, Bangladesh Championing sustainable Agriculture, Fisheries and Tourism, Bangladesh leading the women empowerment agenda and Bangladesh on path to graduation from LDC and Bangladesh-Thailand friends and neighbours at the Bay of Bengal.

The Embassy decorated the UN Office premises in Bangkok colorfully with many exhibition booths, festoons and banners holding Bangladesh flag, national colours, and portraits of Bangabandhu and served an array of delicious Bangladeshi food appreciated by all.

Dhaka, Oct 17 (UNB) –The Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance and the KfW Development Bank acting on behalf of the German Federal Government have signed a loan agreement of EUR 90 million to finance safe drinking water supply for the city dwellers.

Germany has teamed up with other major European Development Partners - the French AFD, the Danish DANIDA, the European Investment Bank and the EU. 

This joint European – Bangladeshi programme is called in short “Saidabad III”. 

The project will be implemented by the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Company (DWASA).  

It will ensure that in future, the water for 8 million people in Dhaka will be safe and reliable. 

Once this project is implemented, the present sources of water (groundwater and the highly polluted Sitalakhya River) will be replaced by water taken from the mighty Meghna River near Haria, Narayanganj, about 26 km in the East of Dhaka. 

From Haria, the raw water will be pumped to the Saidabad Water Treatment Plant, where an additional, third water treatment plant will be constructed, increasing the water production by 450,000 m³ per day to daily production of 900,000 m³. 

“This will enable the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Company to serve more people in Bangladesh's capital city,” said German Ambassador in Dhaka Peter Fahrenholtz.

“And it will make it services less dependent from the use of groundwater and therefore more resistant to climate change, especially during dry seasons and in view of the increasing salinization of its aquifers,” he added.

The overall project costs are expected to be about EUR 570 out of which the Government of Bangladesh will provide EUR 140 million.

The signing ceremony was attended, among others, by Kazi Shofiqul Azam, Senior Secretary and Khalilur Rahman, Chief (Europe Wing), both ERD, Ministry of Finance, Marie-Annick Bourdin, and Peter Fahrenholtz, Ambassadors of France and Germany, respectively, CarenBlume, Deputy Head of Development Cooperation, German Embassy and Regina Maria Schneider, Director of the KfW Regional Office for Bangladesh and Nepal and Quamrun Nahar Laily, Superintending Engineer and Project Director for Saidabad III, DWASA.

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Oct 17 (UNB) – Mentioning that Bangladesh has started its journey on the highway of development, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said no one can halt its ongoing development pace.

“Our government has done whatever necessary for the country’s progress. Bangladesh has started its journey on the highway of development. I believe no one can stop the pace,” she said while opening the newly constructed Chancery Complex of Bangladesh Embassy here.

The Prime Minister inaugurated the two-storey complex unveiling its plaque at a ceremony at the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh around 3 pm local time.

Sheikh Hasina during her visit to Saudi Arabia in June 2016 laid the foundation stone of the 3,819 square metre complex.

The Chancery Complex was constructed at a cost of Tk 51.47 crore.

The Prime Minister planted a sapling on the premises of the Bangladesh Embassy.

Mentioning that the tenure of her government is going to end soon, the Prime Minister said, “If people vote for us, we'll be in power again and if they don’t, we won’t come to power. I've no lamentation for this.”
She said Bangladesh is now a role model of development across the world. “We’ll ensure urban facilities to every citizen of the country, even the rural one.”
Sheikh Hasina said the Bangladeshi expatriates are greatly contributing to enhancement of socio-economic status of the country and all other sectors.

The Prime Minister said Bangladesh has a plan to procure land or flats for setting up hajj mission offices in Makkah and Madinah to provide services to Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims.

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Oct 17 (UNB) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday had a meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at his royal palace here.

Hasina’s meeting with Salman, also the custodian of the two holy Mosques, started at 1:30pm, which was followed by lunch.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, PM's Private Development Affairs Adviser Salman F Rahman, Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque, Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam Moshi and PMO Secretary Sajjadul Hassan were, among others, present at the meeting.

Sheikh Hasina arrived here on Tuesday afternoon on a four-day bilateral visit to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.