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Chief Adviser's Special Envoy on International Affairs Lutfey Siddiqi on Tuesday said that PayPal has shown its interest in Bangladesh, but it would take time as the multinational financial technology company uses to follow a lengthy procedure to enter any market.
"On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting last week in Davos, Switzerland, I held a meeting with PayPal . . . the company is now, in principle, interested in entering the Bangladesh market," he said.
He, however, stressed that this interest "should not be misreported as immediate entry since the company follows a lengthy process before entering any new market".
Siddiqi was briefing the media about his engagements in the WEF meeting in Davos at the Foreign Service Academy here this afternoon. Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam was present at the briefing.
Siddiqi said that discussions between Bangladesh authorities and PayPal were ongoing for many years, although for various reasons the company had not previously been willing to engage in here.
After several months of repeated requests from his side, he said, in December last, PayPal sent a senior-level team to Bangladesh, which spent four to five days in the country holding discussions with Bangladeshi entrepreneurs, the Bangladesh Bank Governor and officials of the ICT sector.
"However, for the first time, I held the high-level meeting directly with PayPal . . . while PayPal is interested; the company is going to start its process to enter the Bangladesh market," Siddiqi said, adding, internal discussions and debates will take place within the company, including deliberations at the board level.
"Before these internal processes are completed, the company does not want any perception to be created that PayPal is definitely coming to Bangladesh," he said.
However, sharing his personal assessment, Siddiqi said that PayPal is fully convinced about Bangladesh's prospects.
Bangladesh's demographic potential has always existed, but what has changed now is the presence of improved governance, which has strengthened PayPal's confidence, he added.
Siddiqi said during the WEF meeting in Davos, he joined 18 to 20 pre-scheduled bilateral meetings at the ministerial or head-of-government level.
At the invitation of President and CEO of WEF and former Foreign Minister of Norway Borge Brende, he also participated in multiple private roundtables, five of which were chaired by heads of state or government, and spoke at three public panels.
In every format, he said, Bangladesh consistently sought to advance its foreign policy and economic diplomacy priorities in an opportunistic but strategic manner.