Home ›› 10 Mar 2023 ›› News
Bangladesh can become a manufacturing or production hub in the South Asian region due to the country’s geographical location and large consumer market, said Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries (FBCCI) President Md Jashim Uddin on Thursday.
Making the remark at a press brief on Bangladesh Business Summit 2023 in the city’s FBCCI auditorium, he added, “The country now has a huge potential for investment as the government continues to develop infrastructure and sets up 100 economic zones.
“It is the right time for Bangladesh to show its achievements and capabilities to the world.”
He continued, “The three-day summit will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at 10am on Saturday at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in Dhaka. Some 200 foreign delegates from 17 countries are expected to present at the summit.
“So far, 755 people have registered to participate in the event.”
The FBCCI chief pointed out there will be 17 parallel sessions including investment opportunities in key sectors, long term finance, infrastructure, digital economy, energy security, agri business, public private partnership, circular economy, SMEs development, pharmaceuticals and health care, hi-tech and automobile, and tourism and blue economy.
Jashim Uddin continued, “To brand Bangladesh to the globe, we are organising the summit marking FBCCI’s 50-year anniversary. Bangladesh has a lot of exportable products excluding readymade garment (RMG) items.
“We would like to showcase those to foreigners through the Best of Bangladesh Expo.”
Thirty pavilions will display the exportable products, including RMG, ceramics, pharma, leather, and light engineering products. Bangladesh also has potential for investment as the country will be the 9th largest consumer market in the world by 2030, and a $1 trillion economy by 2040.
“Some 55 delegates from Saudi Arabia, 42 from UK, 30 from China, 10 from USA, 10 from France, 20 from Japan, and many from UAE are set to participate in the summit. Different countries’ ministers, government officials and companies CEOs will also be present in parallel sessions. We will tell the real story of Bangladesh to the global people,” Jashim said.
The FBCCI president further said, “Bangladesh will achieve LDC graduation by 2026, meet SDGs by 2030 and attain the status of developed country by 2041. The summit will be a milestone for the country. Bangladesh is prepared for foreign investments.
“In the closing day, we will give the Bangladesh Business Excellence Award to our entrepreneurs for their special contribution to the development of the country’s economy and trade. A special jury board consisting of economists, journalists and businessmen has been formed for this special award.”
He added, “Some foreign delegates, including senior officials of the World Trade Organization (WTO), expressed their interest to visit our green factories as Bangladesh has every eight out of 10 such establishments in the world.
“Many will visit our Padma Bridge and some other development projects too.”
The FBCCI is organising the summit in association with foreign, commerce ministries, and BIDA. CNN is featuring the summit. “Our preparation will be completed within Friday. The expo will be open for all and entry is free,” Jashim added.
