HE Mr. Abdul Ghaffar Bin Abdul Karim Al- Bulushi, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman called on the Hon’ble Foreign Minister H.E. Dr. Hasan Mahmud, MP in his office today. During the meeting, they exchanged views on the issues of bilateral and multilateral interests.
Omani Ambassador thanked the Foreign Minister for granting the meeting at the short notice and congratulated him for assuming the charge of the office of Foreign Minister. He apprised him about the recent bilateral engagements between Bangladesh and Oman including manpower, cooperation on energy, fertilizer, investment etc. He mentioned that the temporary ban on the recruit of manpower was an outcome of the regular and periodic review of the Omani authority and was apolitical and temporary in nature; the decision having been currently under a review process under an inter-ministerial committee which is expected to be solved soon through effective cooperation and coordination between both sides.
Welcoming the decision of the Omani competent authority, Hon’ble Foreign Minister thanked the Ambassador for the update and appreciated about the culture, ethos and foreign policy of the Sultanate of Oman. He mentioned that some eight hundred thousand of our workers have been engaged in Oman making positive contributions to both of our economies. He reassured that Bangladesh is committed to cooperate, coordinate and to meet any requirements that the Omani authorities may propose to expedite the lifting of the suspension on the work visa.
Describing Oman as a trusted friend of Bangladesh, he further added that based on the convergence of interests and commonality of values and principles, Bangladesh and Oman used to maintain effective cooperation and coordination in the multilateral for a including the UN, OIC, NAM, IORA etc. and take strong positions on major global issues including Gaza.
Hon’ble Foreign Minister urged the Omani Envoy to work together to expand cooperation in the area of trade and investment. Expressing gratitude for all support from MoFA, the Omani Envoy requested the Foreign Minister to extend support to consider buying Urea fertilizer from the Sultanate of Oman on G2G arrangement from in place of private channel.
The Envoy also apprised the Hon’ble Minister about His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s kind acceptance of the invitation by Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit Bangladesh at the earliest convenience.