Staff Correspondent:

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has urged outgoing Ambassador of Oman Abdul Ghaffar Bin Abdul Karim Al-Bulushi to reopen visas for Bangladeshi workers and help expand trade and energy ties between the two countries.

The ambassador said some 700,000 Bangladeshis now work in Oman, and there is a demand for skilled workers in the energy sector of the Gulf kingdom.

The outgoing Ambassador paid a farewell call on Dr Yunus at the State Guest House in Dhaka on Tuesday, said the Chief Adviser’s press wing on Wednesday.

During the meeting, Ambassador Al-Bulushi greeted the chief adviser, saying the Bangladesh-Oman relationship will grow under his leadership.

Dr Yunus congratulated the ambassador on the successful completion of his tenure in Bangladesh. Ambassador Al-Bulushi is the first Omani envoy to have been posted in Dhaka.

The chief adviser called him a friend of Bangladesh and hoped that he would play a big role in cementing relationships between the two countries.