Home ›› 30 Jul 2022 ›› Governance
Bangladesh has encouraged Uzbekistan to invest in the textile sector here during a bilateral meeting between the two countries on Friday. In this regard, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said that Uzbekistan can invest in G2G or PPP if they want to.
As a result of the discussion, there will be more opportunities to export medicine, leather, and jute products to Uzbekistan, the minister said. Discussion was also held about importing fertilisers and gas from the country, he added.
The commerce minister disclosed the information to journalists after the Bangladesh-Uzbekistan 3rd Intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation meeting at a hotel in Dhaka on Friday.
A 30-member Uzbek delegation headed by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev took part in the meeting. The delegation included Transport minister Ilkhom Mahkamov, Investment and foreign trade first deputy minister Laziz Kudratov, Foreign affairs deputy minister Furkat Sidikov, and Agriculture deputy minister Alisher Shukurov.
“There are several bilateral trade barriers including double taxation. Proposals were made in the meeting to remove them. A request has already been made to finalise the Double Taxation Agreement and the Customs Agreement,” Tipu Munshi said.
A proposal to establish an Uzbek embassy in Bangladesh was made in the meeting. Flights between Dhaka and Uzbekistan and the issue of airport sharing were also discussed. The commerce minister said that fruitful results are expected in these matters within this year.
There were discussions about increasing trade in the textile and cotton sector in the bilateral meeting. A proposal was also made to increase opportunities for pharmaceutical exports to Bangladesh. The Uzbek side proposed further expansion of trade of agricultural products, including agricultural machinery, between the two countries.
After the meeting, Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman said, “Uzbekistan has cotton, which is the raw material for the textile sector, and Bangladesh has the technology for the sector. We discussed how to jointly trade and invest in this sector.”
“Uzbekistan has a good market for drugs. We can directly export medicine there. Alternatively, we can set up factories there. It’s possible to bring skilled manpower and raw material from here,” he added.
Salman F Rahman further said there is scope for leather trade, and that the Bangladesh side has asked for a direct flight link with Uzbekistan to facilitate the tourism sector.
State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak said Uzbekistan has a new IT park authority. An MoU on joint investment with the country was signed last December that has the potential to form start-ups and develop the IT sector of both countries. Bilateral work will commence shortly.
According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, Bangladesh exported goods worth $26.32 million to Uzbekistan and imported goods from the country worth $21.8 million during the fiscal year 2020-22.
