OIC Covid-19 Response: KSA seconds Bangladesh’s plan
Saudi Arabia has endorsed Bangladesh's proposal to form a Covid-19 Response and Recovery Plan to save lives and livelihoods in the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud agreed to the proposal during a phone conversation with his Bangladeshi counterpart AK Abdul Momen yesterday, said a foreign ministry statement.
He told the Saudi minister that a special virtual meeting was imperative to discuss and finalise the issues for creating the fund, an idea that was floated by Bangladesh during the meeting of the OIC Executive Committee at the Level of Foreign Ministers on the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic and joint response on April 22 via video conference.
Momen said Turkey, a powerful member of OIC, has already agreed to establish the fund, which is important to recover the economy, socio-economic stability, and save the lives and livelihoods.
A response and recovery plan, among others, can play a crucial role in training and jobs creation of the migrant workers who could be jobless due to the pandemic, the minister told his Saudi counterpart.
Several lakh Bangladeshi migrants could face forced return after losing their jobs in the Middle East and Southeast Asian countries.
As operations of international flights have been suspended for nearly two months, many of the passengers, especially the migrant workers, remained stranded in those countries.
Momen said as the international travellers need to go through quarantine, Bangladesh would bring its nationals, who want to return, in phases. His Saudi counterpart also consented to it.
Those who had gone to Saudi Arabia for performing umrah or hajj, students, and women domestic workers stranded there would be given priority, he said.
During the conversation, Momen said Saudi Arabia could redeploy the Bangladeshi migrants in the farming and fisheries sectors for food production as food shortage looms large because of coronavirus pandemic.
If the Saudi companies invest in agriculture in other countries, Bangladeshis can be a great help in that, he added. Besides, Bangladesh also has a huge pool of IT professionals who could be recruited by the Saudi companies, he said.
The Saudi minister has shown interest in the proposal, said the foreign ministry statement.
Momen also proposed that Saudi Arabia can import halal meat from Bangladesh.
Besides, the two countries can also go for a joint venture project in meat production. Saudi Arabia can also import vegetables and personal protection equipment from Bangladesh, Momen added.
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