PM to tour BD-UAE Business Forum in March

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina plans to hold a joint forum for Bangladeshi and UAE businessmen during a week-long visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from March 7 to 12, according to officials.

About 50 Emirati businessmen are expected to attend the bilateral business meeting scheduled for March 9 or 10 in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, said Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, deputy head of the Bangladeshi embassy in the UAE. .

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will also lead an entourage of 50 including cabinet members, representatives of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and other prominent businessmen.

During the tour, she will join the forum virtually from her residence.

At the forum, business and investment opportunities in Bangladesh will be presented. The Bangladesh Embassy informed the Ministry of Commerce that a walking lunch and business exchange will follow.

Bangladesh, which has better infrastructure, now has the potential to attract foreign direct investment, FBCCI president Md Jashim Uddin told The Business Standard. “That’s why the Prime Minister is calling on Dubai businessmen to invest in Bangladesh.”

Jashim Uddin said the UAE has the second largest port management capacity in Asia, after Singapore. The capabilities of the Middle Eastern countries in terms of rail infrastructure are also worth mentioning, and Emirates is also well known internationally.

“Bangladesh will ultimately benefit if Emirati businessmen invest in the country’s ports and railways.”

The FBCCI chairman said they will also look for investment opportunities at the Dubai Forum as the government recently released a policy to pave the way for Bangladeshis to invest overseas.

Sheikh Hasina previously visited the UAE in February 2019. During this period, Dubai businessmen expressed interest in investing in Bangladeshi ports, industrial parks, LNG terminals, power plants and special economic zones, and signed four memorandums of understanding.

The proposed investment includes Dubai’s DP World’s inland container warehouse at Dhirasram, Gazipur. DP World is also interested in setting up an industrial park there.

In addition, UAE investors are interested in establishing an onshore LNG receiving centre at the sea port of Pera. Investors have sought 300 acres of land for the agency.

In addition, the agreement signed between Sheikh Ahmed Dalmouk Al Maktoum, member of the UAE royal family and investor, and the Bangladesh Electricity Development Commission mentioned the construction of 800-1,000 MW LNG power plants and additional 100 MW of solar power. plant.

Sheikh Ahmed Dalmouk Al Maktoum also signed an agreement to establish a special economic zone in Matabari.

Bilateral trade between Bangladesh and the UAE has grown by more than 15 percent over the past few years, reaching $1.2 billion in the 2020-21 fiscal year.

Bangladesh’s exports to the UAE in fiscal 2020-21 were worth $495.85 million, according to the Export Promotion Agency.

Preparations are being made to set up a joint business forum on the occasion of the prime minister’s visit, according to a Commerce Ministry official. Meanwhile, Bangladeshi Ambassador to Dubai, Abu Zafar, recently met with Humaid Mohammad bin Salem, Secretary General of the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI).

Bangladesh Economic Forum, an organization of Bangladeshi professionals and entrepreneurs living in the UAE, organized its second international conference in Dubai in 2019. The prime minister’s private industry and investment adviser, Salman F Rahman, was the key guest at the meeting.

Emirati investors in attendance announced a $10 billion investment in power, energy, ports and infrastructure development in Bangladesh.