State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Monday said Bangladesh needs brotherly support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in meeting its energy needs. He said this while reflecting on the current energy crisis in view of the Russia- Ukraine war when KSA Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yousef Essa Al Duhailan met him at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read: UAE keen to scale up engagements with Bangladesh The Saudi envoy stated that he would take up the issue with the concerned Saudi stakeholders. The Saudi envoy also apprised the Minister about the recent terrorist activities conducted by the Houthis in Arab peninsula despite ceasefire. He appreciated the role of Bangladesh in supporting Saudi Arabia and in denouncing terrorism against the Houthis. Read: Argentina’s foreign minister says will open embassy in Dhaka: Media report During the meeting, the State Minister underlined the need to engage more efforts to scale up bilateral collaboration beyond the traditional labour market and Hajj and Umrah. He stated that Saudi Arabia was playing a more visible role in multilateral fora which is encouraging for the Muslim Ummah.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has sought the support of Saudi Arabia to create a voluntary OIC COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund by the willing members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).