Desk Report
Publish: 22 Sep 2021, 03:08 pm
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah || Photo: PID
Kuwait Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah expressed his country's interest to set up an oil refinery in Bangladesh
while sought to share Bangladesh expertise in training their defence forces.
Kuwait Prime
Minister made the proposal in a meeting with
his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina on the sidelines of the UN General
Assembly session.
He also has
proposed the formulation of a roadmap on bilateral cooperation in the meeting.
He (Kuwait PM)
said they want to prepare a roadmap and an actionable programme (jointly with
Bangladesh) in the next five years," Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told a
news briefing in New York following the meeting at the UN headquarters on
Tuesday (New York Local Time).
Momen
described the meeting as "very fruitful" and said in line with the two
premiers' talks he would meet his Kuwaiti counterpart to sort out the areas of
cooperation, required for mutual benefits.
The foreign
minister said Kuwait's PM also expressed his country's interest to set up
an oil refinery in Bangladesh while sought to share Bangladesh expertise in
training their defence forces.
He said Sheikh
Hasina welcomed the proposals and assured her counterpart of providing required
land for the proposed refinery, adding, "We will provide you with the
necessary (military) training and technical support".
Bangladesh had
extended its support towards Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War sending military
troops while in recognition of that gesture Kuwait named a military unit of
theirs as Bangladesh contingent.
State minister
for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam said Kuwait earlier provided Dhaka with US$50
million through its Kuwait Fund which Bangladesh spent for municipal
infrastructure developments under the Local Government Engineering Department
(LGED).
He said
Bangladesh nearly wrapped up a discussion with Kuwait in receiving another $100
million under the Kuwait Fund for five mega projects.
"Since the Bangabandhu period Bangladesh relation with Kuwait is unique," Shahriar
Alam said.
Sheikh Hasina
earlier held another bilateral meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan
Lofven, who earned a global repute of being a famous workers leader in the
contemporary world.
The Bangladesh
Premier told him that her government wanted to take more steps for workers
benefits and sought his advice towards that end.
She
simultaneously informed him that no Bangladeshi garment worker lost jobs during
the COVID-19 pandemic due to stimulus packages.
Foreign
secretary Masud Bin Momen, Prime Minister's press secretary Ihsanul Karim and
Bangladesh's permanent representative to the United Nations Rabab Fatima were
present at the briefing at Hotel Lotte New York Palace.
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