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Riyadh-bound passengers and their family members sit in distress at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka following a flight cancellation. -kamrul islam ratan
Bangladesh is increasingly concerned about the escalating security crisis in Saudi Arabia, fearing potential repercussions for expatriate workers, air connectivity, overseas employment, remittance inflows, fuel supplies and investment prospects. Saudi
Arabia is Bangladesh’s largest overseas labour market and a major source of crude oil.
The concerns intensified after a deadly missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on 10 October. Saudi authorities blamed Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the attack, which killed at least 12 people, including two Bangladeshis, and injured more than 300. Four other Bangladeshis are receiving intensive care.
The airport suspended operations as passengers fled amid the strikes. The Houthis have also warned airlines, airport personnel and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace, fuelling fears of further attacks and disruption to regional air travel.
Repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory, coupled with the group’s strategic position along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab 
el-Mandeb Strait, have heightened the conflict’s security and economic risks.
Experts warn that prolonged hostilities could weaken Saudi economic activity, disrupt employment and energy supplies, and undermine Bangladesh’s remittances, overseas labour market, fuel costs and investment prospects.
“If the war drags on, Saudi Arabia’s economic activities could contract, putting additional pressure on the economy and potentially affecting employment, particularly for foreign workers,” Dr Fahmida Khatun, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), told the Daily Sun.She warned that job losses and the return of Bangladeshi workers could place renewed pressure on the domestic labour market, disrupt remittance inflows and constrain foreign exchange reserve accumulation.
Jobs and remittances at risk
Saudi Arabia is Bangladesh’s largest overseas labour market, employing more than four million Bangladeshis. In 2025, 755,194 Bangladeshis migrated to the kingdom for work, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all Bangladeshi workers who went abroad that year. A further 311,153 travelled there for employment between January and 10 October this year.
The kingdom is also Bangladesh’s largest source of remittances. Bangladesh Bank data show that Bangladesh received $5.85 billion from Saudi Arabia in the 2025-26 fiscal year, up from $4.26 billion in 2024-25.
However, monthly inflows declined during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, falling from $587 million in July to $559 million in August and $504 million in September.
A prolonged conflict could slow construction, services and other labour-intensive activities in Saudi Arabia, reducing recruitment and limiting existing workers’ earnings and employment opportunities.
Many Bangladeshis work in southern Saudi cities and regions, including Abha, Najran and Jizan, which have frequently been targeted by Houthi attacks. They are employed in agriculture, farming and small businesses. Further deterioration could necessitate relocation to safer areas and, if the conflict escalates, potentially force their repatriation.
Dr Fahmida said the coronavirus pandemic had demonstrated how economic contraction could reduce labour demand in services and industry, forcing expatriate workers to return home. A similar outcome in Saudi Arabia would add to Bangladesh’s economic pressures.
Fuel supplies face uncertainty
Energy is another major concern. Bangladesh’s annual demand for petroleum products stands at around 6.5-7 million tonnes, including 1.4-1.5 million tonnes of imported crude oil. Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s state-owned oil company, supplies around 750,000 tonnes of Arabian Light crude annually.
The crude is refined in Bangladesh to produce 13 types of petroleum products, including diesel, bitumen and petrol.
Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure has already been affected by the conflict. Following drone and missile attacks that damaged the kingdom’s key East-West oil pipeline, Saudi Arabia suspended oil supplies to several European refineries. Several cargoes scheduled for delivery in September were also cancelled.
Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production, which remained steady at around 10.1 million barrels per day (mb/d) between November 2025 and February 2026, fell to 7.76 mb/d in March and declined further to 5.4 mb/d in September.
The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), however, does not currently anticipate disruption to Saudi crude supplies to Bangladesh.
Nevertheless, a prolonged conflict could threaten Saudi supply networks and drive up international oil prices and shipping costs. Risks to shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, alongside potential disruption to oil transportation through the Strait of Hormuz, could further increase costs for energy-importing countries.
For Bangladesh, the consequences could include a substantial rise in its fuel import bill.
Badrul Imam, an energy expert and honorary professor at the University of Dhaka, said the crisis highlighted the need to diversify crude oil supplies.
“This is really a critical situation. We need to diversify our source for crude oil. We can seek more supply from eastern partners, especially from Indonesia. Depending too much on a single country for anything is not a good ploy,” he said.
Trade and investment prospects clouded
Bilateral trade could also suffer if the conflict widens. According to Saudi government data platform DataSaudi, Saudi Arabia exported goods worth $1.4 billion to Bangladesh in 2025, mainly fertilisers, mineral fuels and oils, and plastics.
Over the same period, Saudi Arabia imported goods worth $458 million from Bangladesh, with ready-made garments accounting for most of the shipments. Prolonged instability could disrupt trade and supplies of industrial raw materials.
The crisis also threatens to complicate Dhaka’s efforts to attract major Saudi investment. During a visit to Bangladesh in July, a high-level Saudi delegation met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and expressed interest in investing billions of dollars in several sectors, including ports.
Red Sea Gateway Terminal International expressed interest in investing $180 million in the construction of the Bay Terminal, potentially bringing its total investment in Bangladesh’s port sector to $1 billion.
In August, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman formally invited Tarique Rahman to visit Saudi Arabia. Bangladesh views increased bilateral trade and investment as key objectives of the proposed visit.
However, prolonged instability in Saudi Arabia’s security and economic environment could create uncertainty over the timing and implementation of investment plans.
Former ambassador Humayun Kabir, president of the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, warned that the conflict could reduce remittances and disrupt Bangladesh’s exports to Europe.
“If the conflict spreads, the safety of Bangladeshi expatriate workers could be compromised. If the situation deteriorates significantly, the possibility of evacuating them cannot be ruled out. This poses a major risk for a relatively less resilient economy like ours,” he said.