The Saudi Arabian government is providing Tk 244 crore as a royal grant for the construction of eight iconic mosques in Bangladesh. Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Dr. Abdullah Jafar H. Bin Abiah gave this information during a courtesy call on Religious Affairs Advisor Dr. A. F. M. Khalid Hossain at the Secretariat on Sunday (July 27).
During the meeting, the Religious Affairs Advisor said that the construction of iconic mosques with Saudi funding will be started soon. Land proposals have already been received from some departments and regular communication is being made with the concerned parties regarding the rest.
He also said that the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia are very deep and friendly. Currently, there are about 3.2 million Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia, who are making a significant contribution to the country’s economy by sending remittances. At the same time, Bangladeshis working in that country are also playing a significant role in the implementation of Saudi Vision-2030.
The Religious Affairs Advisor thanked the Saudi government and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for the successful and smooth management of this year’s Hajj. At the same time, he drew attention through the Saudi ambassador to various issues including increasing the size of beds in Mina, increasing the number of washrooms in Arafa and Muzdalifah, and maintaining uninterrupted water and electricity supply in the management of next year’s Hajj.
In response, the Saudi ambassador assured to convey these proposals to the concerned ministry. He also promised to strengthen development cooperation in Bangladesh.
During the meeting, various aspects of strengthening and effective relations between the two countries were discussed. In addition, important issues including adding RFID tags to the luggage of Hajj pilgrims and establishing an Arabic Language Institute in Dhaka came up for discussion.
At that time, Religious Affairs Secretary AKM Aftab Hossain Pramanik and Joint Secretary of the Hajj Division Dr. Md. Manjurul Haque were present.
