Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia returned home early Tuesday ending her "fruitful" visit to Kuwait with assurances from the Kuwaiti government of lifting ban on import of manpower from Bangladesh.

On her return on Tuesday, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan told newsmen the trip of prime minister was very "fruitful."

Khan said Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah responded positively to Zia's request to lift the ban on import of skilled and unskilled manpower from Bangladesh during their talks on Sunday.

Khan said Kuwait has agreed to lift the earlier imposed ban forrecruiting Bangladeshi workers. The Kuwaiti prime minister conveyed his government's decision during official talks on Sunday night.

Nearly 250,000 Bangladeshis now work in Kuwait. Around 4 million Bangladeshis work in foreign countries, who send home about 4 billion U.S. dollars annually.

Morshed Khan also said Prime Minister Zia called on Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Monday evening during which she requested the Emir to allow Bangladesh import petroleum products at a concessional rate than the world market and to allow import on deferred payment for one year.

The Emir gave the assurance when Zia called on him on the last day of her two-day visit to the oil rich gulf state.

Bangladesh has been suffering from shortage of required foreign currency to import petroleum products, which badly affected this year's irrigation to main paddy crop.

Khaleda Zia, leading a 31-member high-powered delegation, went to Kuwait on Sunday at the invitation of her Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah.

Source:Xinhua