Prime Minister’s Visit to Saudi Arabia

Sheikh Hasina’s impending visit to Saudi Arabia, though being undertaken for Umrah, is nevertheless an important one because going by newspaper reports; she will meet during the trip His Majesty  King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.

The trip was scheduled to be undertaken early in March but was postponed because of the tensions following the BDR carnage. The Saudis do not take it gracefully when it comes to postponing a visit after it is finalized where appointment has been fixed with the King. That our Prime Minister is undertaking the trip so soon after it was postponed is indeed encouraging. It is equally encouraging that Sheik Hasina is again scheduled to meet the King.

Saudi Arabia employs the largest number of Bangladeshis. The figure of Bangladeshis working there is close to 2.5 million. These Bangladeshis remit close to US $ 2.7 billion a year in foreign exchange. Unfortunately, Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia have been subjected to various problems which unless resolved at the highest level could have disastrous consequences both in terms of economics and humanity. Recently, there is disturbing news that the Saudi authorities are tearing apart documents of legal migrants and that they are undertaking measures to send back 200,000 Bangladeshis back home.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina can take up this issue and seek assurance from His Majesty that Bangladeshi expatriates in the Kingdom will not be singled out for discriminatory action. She should also emphasize the differences these expatriates make to their families back home with the money they earn in their struggle to come out of poverty. In between, she should of course emphasize the importance of the earnings of the expatriates to the economy of Bangladesh.

It is understood that the trip is partly personal in the sense that the Prime Minister is undertaking it for performing Umrah. Thus she has included her sister and her son and a few others close to her in her entourage. It is nevertheless a bit surprising that both the Foreign Minister and the State Minister for Foreign Affairs are in the Prime Minister’s delegation. It is a thumb sticking breach of protocol where two Ministers from the same Ministry are in a Prime Minister’s entourage unless there is a very good reason and there seems to be none here.

We hope the Prime Minister will have a fruitful meeting with the King of Saudi Arabia and help resolve the crisis concerning the Bangladeshis living in the kingdom.

CFAS Editorial Board

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