Staff Correspondent

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday called upon the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to extend the time of visa approval for pilgrims so all of them could perform the holy Hajj.

"Saudi Arabia should extend visa approval time for Hajj pilgrims as they can perform the holy Hajj," PM's speechwriter Md Nazrul Islam quoted her as saying in a media briefing.

Nazrul said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina raised the issue as KSA Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Youssef Essa Al Duhailan called on her at Ganabhaban in Dhaka.

The ambassador said he is taking the initiative to provide visas for the pilgrims who are yet to get their visas for performing Hajj.

Over 10,000 pilgrims are yet to get visas from Saudi Arabia due to various complexities.

The Saudi envoy also expressed his country's investors' and companies' interest in implementing some projects in Bangladesh and handed over a list of those projects to the prime minister.

Sheikh Hasina, in reply, said that after scrutiny and examination, Bangladesh would take the next move.

In this connection, she assured him that the ministries and divisions concerned would look into the matter.

Talking about the Palestine issue, the prime minister said Bangladesh is preparing another consignment of assistance for Palestinians as her country has already sent aid to them two times.

"The whole world is behind Palestine except the USA and its few allies," she said.

At the meeting, the Saudi ambassador mentioned that there are some 32 lakh Bangladeshis in his country who are contributing to both Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia's economies.

The prime minister urged the envoy to take steps to encourage Bangladeshis living in Saudi Arabia to send their remittances to Dhaka through legal channels.

PM's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, Ambassador-at-large Mohammad Ziauddin, and Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin were present.