DHAKA, 17 September 2021, (TON): Spain has expressed its interest in providing financial assistance to the shipbuilding sector of Bangladesh.

A press release said “Spanish Ambassador Francisco De Asis Benitez Salas expressed his country's interest in this regard as he met State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury at the latter's office at the secretariat.

The envoy said “Spain is keen to invest in the collection of river-cleaning vessels to prevent river pollution and clean up garbage.”

During the meeting, they also discussed issues of mutual interest between the two countries.

The state minister said that Spain has experience in the shipbuilding and maritime sectors. The government has collected dredgers for the purpose of digging 10,000 kilometres of waterways.

He added that Spain's assistance will be available in the collection of state-of-the-art copper and hopper dredgers.

Bangladesh and Spain will take part in the elections in the C and B categories of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) respectively.