M. Fazlul Karim, the newly arrived Bangladeshi Ambassador has asked Bangladeshi expatriate community members here to strictly obey Saudi rules and customs. Karim, a career-based diplomat, said his top priorities would be to look after the welfare of Bangladeshis living in Saudi Arabia and to promote bilateral relations in all spheres between the two countries, besides attracting Saudi investments in Bangladesh. Karim, who arrived in Riyadh early this month after serving as his country's ambassador to Italy, urged Bangladeshi expatriates to work together against those involved in unlawful and criminal activities in the Kingdom. He said that the majority of Bangladeshis living in the Kingdom are peace loving and hard working. However, due to the behavior of a few people, the image of the entire community has been tarnished, he said referring to recent reports in Saudi media about Bangladeshis' involvement in criminal activities. There have also been reports in the local media suggesting that the Saudi government would stop recruiting Bangladeshi workers. However, Karim said officially nothing of the sort has happened and Bangladeshis have been coming to work in Saudi Arabia as usual. Over one million Bangladeshis are employed in the Kingdom, mostly in extremely low-paid jobs. Karim minced no words and said the Bangladesh Embassy would show ‘zero tolerance' for those Bangladeshi nationals apprehended by the Saudi police for their involvement in unlawful activities. “If any Bangladeshi national is detained for any wrong doing and involvement in such (criminal) cases, the embassy will show zero tolerance and fully cooperate with the concerned Saudi authorities,” the envoy warned while meeting here with a group of around 400 Bangladeshi community leaders on Wednesday. The Bangladesh government, he said, has taken a number of measures to punish unscrupulous manpower agents involved in fraudulent practices while recruiting Bangladeshis for foreign employment. Karim said the Bangladesh government has been cracking down on erring recruiting agents, and so far around 40 such manpower providers have been banned from operating in the country. The government in cooperation with the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) has introduced an acquaintance program under which Bangladeshi workers would be educated about Saudi rules and customs before coming to the Kingdom. Efforts are also being made to launch a motivation program for Bangladeshi nationals to bring about a positive change in their behavior and to help them develop a sense of respect for local rules, regulations, customs and traditions, he said. “The government is planning to increase the number of welfare officers posted in Bangladeshi missions both in Jeddah and Riyadh,” Karim said. The envoy said his priority also would be to attract Saudi investors to invest in his country in areas such as infrastructure and tourism development which have huge potential and offer lucrative business opportunities. He said the bilateral trade relations between the two countries stood at $420 million with the balance of trade largely in favor of Saudi Arabia. __
