His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani's visit to Bangladesh is all-important and comes "at a time when Bangladesh and Qatar are experiencing one of the best times of their bilateral relations", said Bangladesh Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Hasan Mahmud.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the minister added that Bangladesh views the visit with utmost significance, especially since this is His Highness the Amir's first state visit to Dhaka.
Officials are keen for it to be successful by all standards, Mahmud said adding: "We are confident this visit will bring Bangladesh and Qatar closer than ever."
"We regard our relations with Qatar as a key one. There has been a steady growth of bilateral, manpower, energy, aviation, trade and defence cooperation between our countries," Mahmud said, hailing Qatar's great contribution to the energy sector by being the biggest supplier of LNG for Bangladesh.
"Bangladesh and Qatar enjoy visa free regimes in Diplomatic and Official passports, which demonstrate the level of warmth and trust between the countries," he said adding "our relations with Qatar are friendly and growing steadily."
The field of manpower is one of the most important areas of bilateral cooperation since the seventies of the last century, Mahmud said. "Qatar has attracted more than 800,000 Bangladeshi workers since 1970s and become the fifth largest destination for Bangladeshi workers," he said adding Doha now hosts around 3,50,000 Bangladeshi expatriate workers who boost the economic prosperity in the homeland through remittance earnings.
Mahmud expressed his pride in Bangladeshi citizens' contribution to the growth and development of Qatar through their "hard work and dedication", extending thanks to the Qatar for its care for the Bangladeshi community and its appreciation for its continued contributions to development.
Commenting on the huge prospects for boosting bilateral relations given the fast growing cooperation in areas of trade and defence, Mahmud said Dhaka aspires to "elevate the status of the relationship to Comprehensive Economic Partnership".
"Our other priorities are food security, environment, health, legal and consular matters. We see that we can embark into mutually beneficial collaborations in those field and we are in the process of signing a number of agreements/MoUs aimed at this," he said.
Bangladesh's strong desire and willingness to upgrade multi-sector bilateral ties with Qatar is clearly manifested in the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's two consecutive visits to Qatar in 2023 and her bilateral meetings with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani.
"The highest-level visits always create opportunities to advance Bangladesh-Qatar relations. This is the principal mechanism where both countries can participate in varied conversation on multiple sectors," Mahmud said.
He added the two countries are capitalising on effective mechanisms like the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), Joint working Group (JWG) on Manpower and the Joint Committee on Investment. These mechanisms serve as "long-term frameworks of greater cooperation in political, economic, energy, security, and human resource fields," he added.
All these mechanisms support bilateral cooperation in areas of manpower, trade, energy and food security, and boost Qatari investment in SEZs and hi-tech parks of Bangladesh, leading to a true partnership, especially at the economic level, Mahmud said.
Commenting on Qatar's proactive and globally-recognised mediation efforts, Mahmud said "Doha has always demonstrated its soft power and proved its presence as a major and important player in the Middle East region".
"It has always used its regional influence and diplomatic leverage by mediating in conflicts and has been globally recognised and widely appreciated. We all are aware of Qatar's successful track record of mediations.
"The war in Gaza has spotlighted the high-profile efforts of Qatar to mediate a truce between Israel and Hamas and to negotiate deals to free hostages as well as evacuate foreign nationals from Gaza".
Mahmud expressed his country's appreciation for Qatar's pragmatic and practical approach to global politics and its efforts and influence in mediating the Palestine cause. "We will be following closely and hoping for progress in this intensified diplomacy."
Mahmud expressed his country's appreciation to Qatar for assuming its responsibilities towards better development in the world and for its positive role and influence in global politics, saying: "Doha has become the hub of international conferences which reflects the Qatari decision makers will to make substantial contribution towards global peace and stability."
He added that this role played by Doha in the field of global politics shows the confidence of all other countries in Qatar and in its directions to achieve global harmony.
"It has become the hub of global negotiations and peaceful exchanges. We are very happy that a friendly state like Qatar is the centre of reaching common global understandings."
Mahmud hailed Qatar's investment of its resources for internal and global development and developing countries, especially the LDCs.
He also commended Doha's strong advocacy for strengthening the Islamic ummah.
On Bangladesh's strategies to achieve its Vision 2041, the minister noted the efforts of the incumbent government led by Sheikh Hasina to build an equality and justice-based democratic country through public welfare-oriented and well-coordinated activities in the existing reality.
"For achieving this, our priority lies with increased remittances from our overseas workers, ensuring energy security and shift to renewable energy, more trade with foreign countries and attracting increased foreign investments and cooperation for the emerging areas of Blue Economy, ICT, food security and combating adverse impacts of climate change," he said.
Dhaka has the closest relations with GCC countries thanks to the shared religious traditions, long historical bond and people-to-people ties, he said.
"This region is the preferred destination of our people with 55% of our total overseas workforce employed in GCC countries, generating 60% of our remittance inflow exceeding $11bn-$12bn annually.
"We have traded around $6.96bn with GCC countries in FY 2022-23. A significant percentage of our energy imports come from the GCC countries, which has kept the economy running," he stressed.
Mahmud stressed that his country's historical and religious connection with the Middle East prompts it to strengthen its relations with the region. "I feel that our future is intertwined with this region of the world," he said.
Speaking on the ongoing unrest in the Middle East region, he highlighted Israel's genocidal war against Gaza, ignoring global consensus and condemnation.
The region will not know peace and stability without the Palestinians obtaining their rights, and there will be no peace in the world without peace in the Middle East, he said.
The minister called on the international community to rein in the Middle East conflict and create a violence-free common future in the region.
Dr Hasan Mahmud, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
