‘Bangladesh has the best investment climate in South Asia’

Bangladesh has the best investment climate in South Asia, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, on Thursday, during an online meeting with Espen Rikter-Svendsen, Norwegian ambassador to Dhaka. 

During the meeting, the finance minister also sought the investment of Norwegian government and private sector in various Bangladeshi sectors including communication infrastructure, power and fuel, shipbuilding, and Information Technology.  

"Investment in Bangladesh is an opportunity to get attractive incentives and higher rates of profits," said the finance minister.

He also said that foreign loans and investments were very important to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and build a developed Bangladesh by 2041.

According to Espen Rikter-Svendsen, Bangladesh has changed and improved a lot in the last 10 years.

"Bangladesh has surpassed many other countries in South Asia in many areas including poverty alleviation and women's empowerment," said the Norwegian ambassador.

He continued, "About 10 years ago, I had visited Bangladesh. But the country has made a lot of progress during this time."

According to the Ministry of Finance, the Norwegian government has provided $773 million in aid to Bangladesh since independence until 2018.

Of this, Norway has provided 8 million in food, $183 million in products and $582 million in various projects.