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Eleven Austrian top companies are forming the official trade mission to Dhaka From February 17 to 21, said a statement issued by BUILD.
The increasing interest of the Austrian business community to Bangladesh as one of the fastest growing economies in South Asia is also underscored by the presence of the Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Ms Karin Kneissl, who is heading this delegation.
On 19th of February, Advantage Austria (which is the organizational name of the Commercial Section at the Austrian Embassy) and its institutional partner in Bangladesh Business Initiative Leading Development(BUILD) will organise the Austria – Bangladesh Business Dialogue in the conference room of MCCI.
Mr. Salman F Rahman, Prime Minister’s Adviser for Private Industry and Investment will be the chief guest.
A panel discussion with the title “Economic priorities of the new government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh” will provide different views on possibilities for cooperation in Bangladesh and the Austrian companies present with whom B2B meetings are possible.
Bilateral trade between Austria and Bangladesh has been developing very dynamically in the past years. Austrian statistics for the calendar year 2017 show that Bangladesh had a plus of nearly 10 per cent in exports to Austria in 2017 compared to 2016 and the absolute value of direct exports to Austria amounts to almost 695 million EUR. In regards to Austria also very positive dynamics are traceable: Austria managed to keep its exports to Bangladesh at around EUR 77 million.
As a member of the European Union Austria offers all the benefits in regards to the trade regime (EBA - “Everything but Arms”) for Bangladesh. Austria is an export-oriented country as more than 50% of the GDP is derived from exports. This figure underlines our slogan that Austrian companies are “surprisingly ingenious” as this high rate of exports could not be achieved if Austrian companies would not be the world-class partners as they are today and their products and services are in high demand all over the globe.
Eleven Austrian top companies from various sectors such as renewable energy, health care and medical equipment, education, e-government solutions, disaster mitigation and firefighting vehicles, food and beverages as well as financial services are part of this business delegation. Apart from business meetings and briefings at International Finance Cooperation(IFC) and International Monetary Fund( IMF) official meetings will take place at different important ministries to discuss which areas of cooperation can be explored in the future.
“The first Forum meeting resulted in a number of projects for skill development, education and e-library etc. The second official high profile business delegation to Bangladesh in such a short time is a clear testimony that Bangladesh has created enabling business environment for foreign companies and attract important EU country like Austria to be engaged with business in the country” said Ferdaus Ara Begum, CEO, BUILD.
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