Private sector development, trade expansion growth drivers for Bangladesh: Rushanara Ali

UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Bangladesh Rushanara Ali has said private sector development and trade expansion are the real growth drivers for Bangladesh's economy.
 
"Bangladesh has achieved tremendous success in the socio-economic sector. For the continuation of this progress, public and private sectors' coordination is much needed," Rushanara said during a bilateral meeting with the business leaders of Bangladesh at the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) yesterday.
 
She also called for enhancing the bilateral partnership between the UK and Bangladesh.  
 
"Removing bottlenecks will open up more investment opportunities here," Rushanara said, adding, "We have to ensure poverty alleviation in line with the economic growth."
 
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman chaired the meeting, where Miran Ali, vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Sonia Bashir Kabir, founder and managing director of SBK Tech Venture, Moinuddin Hasan Rashid, group chairman and managing director of United Group, Syed Nasim Manzur, managing director of Apex Group, participated, said a press release.
 
At the meeting, DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and UK was $4.11 billion in 2021. The UK's net foreign direct investment stock in Bangladesh was about $2.53 billion and it is the third-largest export destination for Bangladesh, in future, it will grow further.
 
Rizwan Rahman invited British investments in ship-building, RMG, agro-processing, leather and footwear, light engineering and the skills development sector of Bangladesh.
 
Mentioning that Bangladesh will enjoy the duty-free, quota-free facility in the UK till 2029, he requested the British envoy to allow Bangladesh to continue this facility even after 2029.
 
He also said the Rules of Origin requirement facility can be eased and extended, while the technical trade barriers need to be reduced and rationalised.
 
British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson said Bangladesh's private sector is very strong and they are leading the economy from the front.
 
Mentioning that the UK is strong in the service sectors like education, healthcare and financial sector, Dickson said, "In the industrial designing and skills development Bangladesh and UK can work jointly."
 
He also said the Mirsarai Economic Zone in Chattogram is a good place for attracting foreign investment and there are huge opportunities for UK investors as well.  
 
Apex Group Managing Director Syed Nasim Manzur said Bangladesh needs to improve itself in industrial product design to attract quality buyers. He also invited UK investments in the pharmaceutical, RMG, healthcare and education sectors of Bangladesh.
 
SBK Tech Venture Founder and Managing Director Sonia Bashir Kabir said the UK can invest in Bangladesh in forming a digital banking ecosystem.
 
BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali said Bangladesh's RMG sector is now very competent in terms of compliance as well as world-class quality production.
 
"Well thought product designing capacity and synthetic cotton production have a good opportunity where the UK and Bangladesh can jointly work," he added.
 
Moinuddin Hasan Rashid, chairman and managing director of United Group, said, "We are still lagging in creating skilled nurses and the UK can help us in this sector."
 
Moreover, if UK universities come here to operate, there will be a good demand for their courses among our students, he said.
 
DCCI Senior Vice President Arman Haque and Vice President Monowar Hossain were also present at the programme.