Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia on Sunday agreed to form a joint working group to resolve the issue of Bangladeshis living in Saudia Arabia whose passports require renewal. The issue was raised when visiting Deputy Minister of Interior of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al Dawood called on the PM at her official residence Ganabhaban. PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting. Read more: BAIRA won't submit passports at Saudi embassy anymore The Saudi Deputy Minister raised the issue of Bangladeshis with expired passports living in the Kingdom. He also proposed the formation of a joint working group to address the issue. The Prime Minister agreed on the proposal and instructed concerned officials to form a joint working group. PM’s press secretary also said that various issues related to bilateral interest came up for discussion during the talks. He said, Dr Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al Dawood thanked the Prime Minister for Bangladesh’s support to Saudi Arabia in multilateral fora on the issue of its expo scheduled for 2030. The Saudi Deputy Minister congratulated the Prime Minister on 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence and 100th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He also lauded for the impressive development of Bangladesh over the last decade under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Read more: “Reintroducing machine readable passports for Bangladeshis in US to be reviewed” During the meeting, the Prime Minister referred to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war and said that these have created obstacles to the economic progress of countries in the world. She also sought Saudi cooperation to resolve the Rohingya issue. Sheikh Hasina conveyed good wishes for the custodian of the two holy mosques and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the crown prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. PM's Ambassador-at-Large Mohammad Ziauddin, PM's Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, Bangladeshi Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dr Javed Patwary and Ambassador of the Saudi Arabia Essa Yousef Essa Alduhailan, were present, among others.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Wednesday said a Japan-Bangladesh Joint Working Group would be formed to boost trade and investment.