Bangladesh-Abu Dhabi deals lined up for Hasina’s tour

Bangladesh eyes new areas of cooperation with Abu Dhabi during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s maiden visit to the Gulf kingdom from Saturday.

Briefing journalists on the visit, Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali on Friday said both sides would sign a number of agreements during the three-day visit that include security cooperation and transfer of sentenced prisoners.

The visit is crucial as the United Arab Emirates has restricted its market for the Bangladeshi workers like many other countries.

The country is the second largest manpower destination for the remittance-dependent Bangladesh economy after Saudi Arabia.

More than a million Bangladeshis currently work there, but a section of them has engaged in different unscrupulous activities which, officials say, was one of the reasons for the restrictions.

There had been media reports that UAE was unhappy with Bangladesh as Dhaka did not vote them in the first round in its bid to host World Expo 2020.

Bangladesh voted Russia in the first round, but after its (Russia’s) elimination Dhaka voted Dubai. The city finally won the bid.

However, the government is optimistic as the prime minister’s visit will follow the tour of President Abdul Hamid who will attend a conference in Dubai.

Both of them will visit the country at the invitation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE Prime Minister and Vice President, and the Ruler of Dubai.

“These visits will make the relations stronger,” the foreign minister said, though he did not mention any irritants between Dhaka-Abu Dhabi ties.

“Strengthening the existing relations and finding new areas of co-operation will be the main objectives of the visit.”

He said Hasina would discuss issues of bilateral and international interests during her visit.

She will have meetings with the UAE’s Mother of the Nation Sheikh Fatima, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Oct 26.

The prime minister will fly to Dubai to meet Rashid Al Maktoum. She will also meet the ruler of the Ras al-Khaimah (RAK) Sheikh Saud Bin Aaqr Al Qasimi.

The foreign minister said the deals that they were expecting to be signed include security co-operation, transfer of convicted prisoners, handover of a plot to UAE Embassy in Dhaka, foreign office consultation and an MoU between the manpower bureaus for recruiting domestic workers.

He said they had proposed to sign a joint statement that “hopefully” would be issued.

Officials say signing those agreements will open up the manpower market again.

The foreign minister, however, said discussions were going on. “We’ll let you know once the negotiation is over”.

He, however, said the back-to-back visits by the president and the prime minister indicate all problems, if any, are resolved.

President Hamid will leave on Oct 28, a day after the return of the prime minister, to attend the 10th World Islamic Economic Forum until Oct 30.

The foreign minister who will accompany both will personally attend the fourth ‘High Level Public Private Counter Piracy Conference’ in Dubai from Oct 29 to Oct 30.

Bangladesh will try to lure in Gulf investors during the prime minister’s visit particularly in the field of gas pipeline, refinery, fertiliser, port development and power sector, officials say.