Bangladesh offers visa on arrival for Emiratis

In a unilateral move, Bangladesh has offered visa on arrival for Emiratis to boost bilateral ties, said Mohammed Imran, Bangladeshi Ambassador to the UAE.

Speaking with Khaleej Times, Imran said the facility will benefit over 1,000 Emiratis, who visit his country annually for business, workers’ recruitments, and attending a religious congregation held in Tongi, Dhaka.

The ambassador said both Bangladesh and the UAE have convergence of views on major global and regional issues as both are committed to maintain global peace, security and development.

Speaking on the occasion of March 26, a day on which Shaikh Mjueebur Rehman, Bangladesh’s founding father, declared Independence in 1971, the ambassador said both countries signed a Trade Agreement in 1984, which has boosted trade and investments between them, since then.

The two-way trade volume, he said, reached $967 million in 2012-13, heavily in favour of the UAE as exports from Bangladesh value $251.25 million.

Bangladesh’s import from the UAE includes crude oil and refined petroleum products, chemicals including fertilizer, bitumen etc. A few other products like cotton and cotton yarn/fabrics, electric machinery and equipment are also re-exported from the UAE to Bangladesh.

The main exports of Bangladesh are readymade garments, vegetables, frozen fish, jute yarn/products, home textiles and fabrics, food items, stainless steel and melamine cookeries, electronics, electric cables etc.

The UAE is a major foreign investor in Bangladesh with nearly $2.9 billion investment.

The Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) has invested in ceramics, pharmaceuticals and real estate sectors. Major UAE holdings such as IPIC Abu Dhabi, DP World and Abu Dhabi Investment Fund are exploring investments in gas pipeline, refinery, fertilizer, port development and power sector.

The UAE airlines like Emirates, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia and RAK Airways and Biman Airlines of Bangladesh operate 35-40 direct flights weekly, building bridges between the two nations, said Imran.

haseeb@khaleejtimes.com