President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Fazle Fahim has been made president of D-8 Chamber of Commerce and Industries (D8CCI).
It was announced at the ‘D-8 Business Forum’ held on Monday on the eve of the 10th D-8 Summit scheduled for April 8.
The D-8 is an organisation for development cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
Apart from leading the apex business body - FBCVI, Fahim is also the Vice-President of Saarc Chamber of Commerce & Industries (SCCI) and Confederation of Asia Pacific Chamber of Commerce & Industries (CACCI).
Talking about his new role, Fahim said they are committed to improving connectivity and trade relations “among our nations” and reach the goal of high economic growth and prosperity. "We reach out to our D8 members for support wherever applicable and look forward to our future engagements to drive impact among member states," he said.
Fahim will serve as the president of the Developing-8 Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the term of 2021-2023, marking the beginning of Bangladesh’s presidency over the D8 CCI for the first time, said the FBCCI.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen was present as the chief guest at the Business Forum.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, Ambassador Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, Secretary General of D-8; Ruhsar Pekcan, Minister of Trade of Turkey; Jerry Sambuaga, Deputy Minister of Trade of Indonesia; Rifat Hisarciklioğlu, President of TOBB and previous president of D8 CCI; Sonia Bashir Kabir, Founder SBK Tech Ventures & SBK Foundation; and Dr Syed Ferhat Anwar, Director of Institute of Business Administration and Asian Center for Development, were present.
Congratulating Sheikh Fazle Fahim on his new role, Momen said the role of D-8 CCI is crucial in forming economic integration to ensure economic development and revival, especially to combat the challenges of this ongoing global crisis. "I believe D-8 CCI, under the leadership of Sheikh Fazle Fahim, will aid intra-trade, investment opportunities and collaboration among D8 member states to facilitate the overall economic growth and development.”
Tipu Munshi said the government of Bangladesh along with D-8 CCI, under the leadership of the new president, can overcome the challenges imposed by COVID-19 which are affecting all the D-8 nations.
"Together, we’ll work towards enhancing trade, investments, entrepreneurship, tourism, strengthening MSMEs and other businesses among member states,” he said.
Shahriar Alam said, “We remain steadfast in our commitment to facilitate b2b trade and investment among member states. The government of Bangladesh is ready to provide full support to the D-8 CCI and Mr Fahim in sharing this important responsibility of boosting economic and social cooperation among member states.”
The Minister of Trade of Turkey and Deputy Minister of Trade of Indonesia also extended their congratulations and pledged their full cooperation and support to the new president.
President of TOBB Rifat Hisarciklioğlu, who handed over the presidency, said, “I’m truly honoured and pleased to hand over the presidency into his safe and capable hands. We’ll support the new president whenever it is necessary to strengthen the relationships among D-8 member states.”
