Bangladesh needs promotional campaigns in Turkiye to attract FDI (foreign direct investment), said Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Rizwan Rahman.
An 86-member business delegation of the Dhaka chamber led by its president attended a forum on “Exploring Trade and Investment Opportunities Between Turkiye and Bangladesh” in Istanbul organised by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkiye (DEiK) on Thursday, according to a press release.
Rizwan said Bangladesh is ready to take Turkish investment right at this moment.
It needs to be figured out if there are any tariff and non-tariff barriers in terms of exporting to Turkiye, he added.
He also stressed the importance of knowledge transfer and technology transfer, research and knowledge sharing.
The DCCI chief invited Turkish carpet makers to import quality jute from Bangladesh.
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He further termed the RMG value chain, automotive, leather and footwear, pharmaceutical, plastic and infrastructure the potential sectors for Turkish entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.
Mentioning that exports grew by 34.38 per cent till June 2022 despite the Covid situation, he said that Bangladesh has a good demographic dividend. The total working age of people is 65 per cent in Bangladesh.
The Turkiye-Bangladesh Business Council was established in 2011 and the Turkiye-Bangladesh Business Forum was established in 2022. Moreover, both the countries are member states of D8 and OIC.
He also suggested forming a joint economic commission with the active participation of the private sector.
During the meeting Chairman of DEiK/Turkiye-Bangladesh Business Council Onur Ozden said Turkish entrepreneurs are already in operation in Bangladesh and the others are very keen to explore these possibilities further. But the bilateral trade between these two countries should be increased and for that exchange of such business delegations would be the best option.
Ambassador of Turkiye in Bangladesh Mostafa Osman Turan said Bangladesh is giving different fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to foreign investors. B2B in that case plays a vital role in enhancing trade and investment.
He also said that at present bilateral trade has crossed $1.3 billion and it has the potential to grow more.
Bangladesh’s market is a large market and Turkish investors may explore this opportunity. Infrastructure development, policy reforms and ease of business registration process will attract Turkish investors to Bangladesh, he added.
Ambassador of Bangladesh in Ankara Mosud Mannan said the private sectors of both countries need to play a catalytic role.
Despite there being a language barrier between the two countries but still it can be overcome, he added.
The Bangladesh government will establish 100 economic zones with different lucrative packages and that will foster foreign investors to come and invest in Bangladesh, hoped Mosud.
More than 110 companies invited by DEiK joined for an interactive B2B session with the DCCI business delegation members after the business forum.
At the end, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between DCCI and Istanbul Gedik University.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman and President, Board of Trustees, Istanbul Gedik University Hulya Gedik signed the document on behalf of their respective organisations.
Mohammed Nore-Alam, consul general of Bangladesh to Istanbul, was also present during the meeting.
