MCCI holds its 3rd quarterly luncheon meeting of 2023

Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) on Monday organized its third quarterly luncheon meeting of 2023 at its Gulshan office in Dhaka.

Abdoulaye Seck, country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, the World Bank (WB), attended the programme as chief guest, says a press release.

In his welcome remarks, the MCCI President Md. Saiful Islam praised the WB as a major contributor to the development of business and commerce in Bangladesh. As the oldest trade chamber of the country, MCCI also stood as a pillar of strength in Bangladesh's trade and commerce arena.

He believed that converging the efforts of MCCI and the WB had the potential to elevate Bangladesh's business landscape to new heights.

Saiful Islam hoped to explore collaboration opportunities with the WB in the areas of developing business climate index (which MCCI had already started doing with its BBX report) and climate change.

Abdoulaye Seck praised Bangladesh for having come a long way since independence. However, catering to the two million annual job entrants amid the latest geopolitical considerations and climate change required adaptations.

The chief guest considered LDC-graduation and economic diversification to be among the top challenges Bangladesh had to face and prepare for in the near future. Also, Bangladesh's export as a percentage of GDP was very low, even when compared to other competing exporting nations. Navigating these would require constant dialogues among the public and the private sectors along with multilateral organizations, he stated.

Seck highlighted improving the business environment for the private sector, transcending financial obligations to support long-term growth, and improving the effectiveness of public institutions as WB's priorities for Bangladesh.

He also reaffirmed the WB's commitment to Bangladesh's development and its openness to partnerships in the future.

Other topics that came up during the discussion include the need for skill development, a reassessment and rearrangement of the entire education system, overcoming the export bias of incentive polices, the need to have a renewed focus on agriculture, the need for more losses to be covered by insurance, and the latest National Tariff Policy 2023.

The event ended with a vote of thanks from the MCCI Vice-President, Habibullah N. Karim.

Among others, representatives from various member firms of MCCI and the media attended the event, the press release adds.