Spain has expressed its interest to give financial assistance to the ship-building sector in Bangladesh.

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 here today, a press release said.

The envoy said that Spain is keen to invest in the collection of 'River Clean Vessel' 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 kilometer (km) of waterways, he said, adding that Spain's assistance will be available in the collection of state-of-the-art copper and hopper dredgers.

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

In the election, the state minister and the ambassador expressed support for their respective countries.

HM