Bangladesh gets $5bn Qatar investment
SE Asian country to receive investment in power sector, roads, airports and river dredging
Qatar will invest up to $5bn into the funding of infrastructure development in Bangladesh, the outgoing ambassador of the South-East Asian country said on Friday.
Mohammed Hussein, former Bangladeshi ambassador to Qatar, said that the investment would cover the power sector, roads, airports and river dredging. He added that Qatar had also agreed to deposit money worth $1.8bn into the Central Bank of Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh and Qatar share excellent relations, the two countries cooperate significantly in all regional and international forums to ensure the interests of both countries,” he told the Arabic language newspaper, Al Sharq, on the sidelines of a farewell function held in his honour.
Hussein added that Qatar’s investments in his country, to the tune of $5bn, would be directed to develop the Dhaka airport and a power plant to generate electricity, among other projects.
Once the power plant is ready for operations, it will generate 1000MW of electricity for the country, which has a huge power demand.
“Qatar has also approved to deposit $1.8bn in the central bank of Bangladesh,” he said.
With more than 100,000 Bangladeshis working across different sectors in Qatar, Hussein said that he expected trade links between the two countries to grow rapidly.
“The number of Bangladeshi workers in the country will witness a rise in the coming days. As Qatar is preparing to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Bangladesh is looking forward to playing a significant role by providing more manpower and other necessary facilities to carry out the ambitious projects,” he added.
“In the meantime, growing trade ties between the two countries will further deepen and strengthen bilateral relations,” said the envoy.
