Saudi Fund may provide soft loan for fertiliser: Iftekhar

Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury yesterday said there is a possibility that the Saudi Development Fund may be in a position to provide Bangladesh soft loan for the procurement of fertiliser from Saudi Arabia.
He stated this to the media after a meeting with Mohammad Al-Arifi of the Saudi Fund for Development, the head of the Saudi delegation to a conference being held in Jakarta on Afro-Asian strategy for Capacity Building in Palestine.
“My understanding is that this is a soft loan window of the Saudi fund that provides resources on easy terms for non-petroleum purchases from Saudi Arabia,” Iftekhar said, according to a message received from Bangladesh mission in Jakarta.
He added: “I was told, if approached, such funds may be made available to Bangladesh, which would be most helpful given our needs for inputs for the next aman and boro crop seasons.”
The foreign adviser informed that he also had a useful conversation with Dr. Yousef Al-Saadan, Saudi deputy minister for economy.