Qatar is eager to seek physician-engineers from Bangladesh.State Minister for State Sultan Bin Saad al-Muraiqi has expressed interest in recruiting skilled manpower from Bangladesh.
He expressed this interest in a courtesy meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Parliament House on Sunday evening.
After the meeting, Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim quoted the Minister of State for Qatar as saying, ‘We want to appoint doctors, engineers and other skilled manpower from Bangladesh’.
On the Rohingya issue, the Minister of State for Qatar said that his country would continue to support Bangladesh in this issue.
In this context, the Prime Minister once again referred to the Rohingya as a “burden” of Bangladesh’s economy. He asked, “They (Rohingya) are the burden of our economy and how long will we keep these large numbers of Myanmar citizens in our country?”
The press secretary said that Saad al-Muraiqi stressed on strengthening cooperation between the two countries, including education.
‘There are many areas that have not been explored that need to be searched for economic assistance’, he said.
Welcoming the Minister of State for Qatar in Bangladesh, the Prime Minister said, ‘We value our relations with Muslim countries and we can find areas of development together’.
The Prime Minister wished for further Qatar investment in Bangladesh in the mutual interest of the two countries. ‘We are setting up 100 special economic zones across the country’,he said. Qatar’s entrepreneurs can invest in these regions’.
Referring to the key to education development, Sheikh Hasina said her government has taken many steps for the development of education sector.
Sheikh Hasina said, ‘We are emphasizing technical and vocational training to create skilled manpower in the country’.
Referring to her government’s steps to establish a poverty-free country, the Prime Minister said her government had reduced the poverty rate to 20.5 percent. Regarding the socio-economic development of the country, the Prime Minister said that due to various realistic measures of the government, the GDP growth has increased to 8.15 percent.
Sheikh Hasina invited Qatar’s Emir to visit Bangladesh in ‘Mujib Year’ and said, ‘We will be delighted to welcome her to the nation’s father’s birth anniversary’.
He told the Prime Minister, ‘We are following the implementation of your development program’.
Saad al-Muraiqi also praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s dynamic leadership from underdevelopment and transition to developing countries in Bangladesh.
The State Minister of Qatar said that they want Bangladesh to play an important role in the region and in the Muslim world. In this regard, he said, ‘We do not want to interfere with our internal affairs. You are a symbol of the Muslim world in this regard’.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Ahmed Kaiqaus and Qatar Ambassador to Dhaka Ahmed Mohammed Nasser Al-Dehimi were also present there.
Chief of the Dhaka Bureau, Feb 17,2020