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The country has not yet exploited the potential of halal food and clothing markets in the Middle East, other than exporting unskilled manpower, participants of an investment conference said on Thursday.
They emphasised building infrastructure and making investments in farming and food processing in Bangladesh apart from enhanced diplomatic engagement with the Middle Eastern countries like the UAE to increase trade and investment.
Addressing a webinar as part of the Investment Summit, DrMashiurRahman, Economic Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister, urged the entrepreneurs from the Middle East to invest in Bangladesh taking advantage of the country’s stable economy and available labour force.
He suggested a chamber-to-chamber collaboration to boost trade identifying areas of cooperation and making investments.
The webinar on “Shaping business landscape: economic cooperation of the Middle East and Bangladesh” was organised on the third day of ‘Bangladesh Trade and Investment Summit 2021’. It was jointly organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI).
Abdulla Ali AlHmoudi, acting Ambassador of UAE to Bangladesh, underscored the need for close collaboration and partnership to expand bilateral trade.
The UAE is keenly interested in expanding the business and deepening engagement through strategic partnership, he said and hinted that the Bangladesh-UAE business council would be formed soon.
Business leaders pointed out that limited diversification of RMG and exportable products, unskilled labour, limited infrastructure to utilise potentials of the halal market, absence of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements with the Middle Eastern countries are major barriers to higher trade cooperation.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman, moderating the session, underlined the need for diversifying products to enhance the export market based on market needs.
In the context of the Middle East, he emphasised effective cooperation in setting up joint venture halal certification and testing institutes to exploit the market potential there. “Economic diplomacy should also be strengthened by Bangladesh to ensure labour supply to the Gulf countries,” he insisted.
K MahmoodSattar, Chairman, RSA Advisory & RSA Capital Limited, mentioned that Bangladesh is a better place for the Middle Eastern countries to invest in producing halal foods and goods.
Country Director of DP WorldMrShamimUlHuqadded that the growth of Bangladesh is phenomenal.
MrTajwar M Awal, Director, Lal Teer Seed Ltd, suggested that the Middle Eastern countries can invest in Bangladesh’s agriculture sector.
Terming the Middle East market largely untapped, Managing Director of Plummy Fashions Ltd, MrFazlulHoquesaid the UAE imports clothing worth US$2.5 billion every year and the Gulf Cooperation Countries import clothing worth $5.3 billion.“But our share is less than 1.0 per cent,” he said.
Mr Sulaiman Al Jedaie, managing director of Saudi Industrial Export Company, expressed their interest in investing in the food processing sector in Bangladesh and exporting to Latin American and African markets.
Bangladesh’s export to Middle Eastern countries stood at $1.27 billion in 2020 compared to $2.04 billion import in the same year, according to the International Trade Centre (ITC).
Apparel and clothing, vegetables, textile fibres and paper yarn, coffee, tea, mate and spices, cereals, flour, starch, pastry and leather goods and footwear are the exportables from Bangladesh.
The country’s import items from the Middle East include mineral fuels and oils, organic compounds of precious metals, machinery, mechanical appliances, boilers, edible fruits and nuts.