Bangladesh and Kuwait have signed four agreements on investment, aid, military cooperation and diplomatic relations.
Published : 04 May 2016, 07:54 PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah witnessed the signing of the deals at the former’s office in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The two leaders had held a bilateral meeting before the signing ceremony.
After the meeting, Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque told reporters that the two sides had agreed to cooperate on combating extremism and terrorism.
“There are similarities in the strategies of the two countries in tackling extreme violence and terrorism. The two prime ministers have agreed to work together (over the matters),” he said.
One of the agreements involves the Lebukhali Bridge on the Payra River on the Barisal-Patuakhali Highway.
Under the agreement, Kuwait will offer Bangladesh 15 million dinars ($50 million) as loan for the project.
The construction of the bridge do away with the need for ferry crossings linking roads between the two southern districts, and travels to and from Kuakata, a tourism attraction in Patuakhali district, will become easier.
Additional Secretary of Economic Relations Division Mahmuda Begum and Director General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development Abdulwahab Al-Badar signed the deal.
This is the second agreement on the Lebukhali bridge project. Bangladesh had signed the first deal of 14 million dinars with the Persian Gulf country in 2012.
The deal on mutual exemption of prior entry visa for holding of diplomatic and official passports was signed between home ministry Senior Secretary Md Mozammel Haque Khan and Kuwait Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Khaled Sueliman Al-Jarallah.
Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division Lt General Md Mahfuzur Rahman and Kuwait’s Khaled Sueliman Al-Jarallah signed the deal on cooperation in military fields of training and other areas.
The Kuwaiti prime minister arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday as part of his visit to five South and Southeast Asian countries.