Finland keen to support smart city, smart port solutions in Bangladesh

Finland, as a development partner of Bangladesh, is keen to support energy, smart city and smart port solutions in Bangladesh.

The interest was shown at a seminar titled ‘Finland's Smart Infrastructure Day; Building Bangladesh’ jointly organised by the Finland Embassy in Dhaka and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) at a city hotel on Monday.

The speakers at the seminar said that in order to materialise the goal of becoming a prosperous developed country by 2041, Bangladesh is going through an infrastructural transformation, where modern technology, technical skills and adequate financing are required to ensure sustainable development, reports BSS.

Speaking on the occasion, the Ambassador of Finland in Bangladesh Ritva Koukku-Ronde said, "We are here to strengthen the bilateral relations with Bangladesh. Particularly in economic and technical cooperation, we have opportunities to work. Finnish companies can invest here in the energy, smart city and port management sector."

In order to further expand trade between the two countries, she sought the cooperation of the FBCCI.

Speaking at the Seminar, FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin said, "Bangladesh always considers Finland as a development partner. Finnish companies are highly rich in industrial equipment, port management and the energy sector. I believe their experiences and technologies can help Bangladesh toward its development journey."

Referring to a report of HSBC, Jasim said, "Regarding the local market size, Bangladesh is in the 9th position in the world. So, there are opportunities for Finnish companies here."

To ensure energy safety, he said the government is focusing on mixed-based power generation.

Honorary Consul General of Finland in Bangladesh and Chairman of Summit Group Aziz Khan emphasized technology transfer between Bangladesh and Finland in the renewable energy sector.

Finnish Companies like Nokia, Wartsila, Elematic, and Konecranes and Bangladeshi Companies like Summit Group, Bashundhara Group, Gemcon Group, and Cosmos Group highlighted their business profiles and plans in the seminar.

FBCCI senior vice president Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu, vice president Md. Amin Helaly, Salahuddin Alamgir, directors, and secretary general, among others, attended the seminar.