Bangladesh is building a strong economic base to achieve Vision 2041

In the glorious journey of the last five decades, Bangladesh has consistently secured its unique place in the world court. By 2030, Bangladesh is building a strong economic base to achieve Vision-2041 by harnessing the ninth largest consumer market and a young population. To achieve this target, Bangladesh should move forward by considering the establishment of trade, investment and advanced communication system as the main driving force of development.

Greater emphasis on increasing competitiveness is needed to achieve Vision 2041. It will highlight the determination and sustained efforts to strengthen Bangladesh’s position on the world stage. Comprehensive policy research, strategic reforms and initiatives are essential to strengthen Bangladesh’s competitiveness on the global stage. Combined efforts to coordinate trade, investment and connectivity will usher in sustainable growth and a prosperous future, positioning Bangladesh as one of the countries on the global landscape.

On the second day of the ’60th Anniversary Celebration and Investment Fair 2023′ organized by the Foreign Investors Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICI), the speakers expressed these views in a session entitled ‘Investment Climate: Current Landscape and Vision 2041’ on Monday (November 20). Chief Secretary of the Prime Minister was the chief guest of the session. Tofazzal Hossain Mia and the keynote speech was conducted by the founder and chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh. M. Riaz of Masroor. The program was moderated by Rupali Haque Chowdhury, Managing Director of Berger Paints Bangladesh and former President of FIKI.

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister. Tofazzal Hossain Mia said, with the current economic growth, our government is committed to facilitate the flow of capital and create a favorable environment for investors. For this purpose it is necessary to solve various problems related to investment, promote diversification and improve logistics policies. Efforts including PPP projects and blue-economy exploration enhance our engagement with the private sector to sustain development. The main objective of this effort is to make Bangladesh a profitable investment destination as one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

The founder and chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh. M. Masrur Riaz said, from the beginning of the development of Bangladesh, our main goal was to establish ourselves as a competitive country in the world. Besides, creation of trade opportunities for foreign investors, WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, commitment to digitalization were the main themes of these activities. But not only the competition but its real purpose was to build itself as a developed country by 2041.

Rupali Haque Chowdhury, Managing Director of Berger Paints Bangladesh, said that the three main drivers of economic development should be trade, investment and connectivity. Along with local investments, foreign investments have contributed significantly to this trend of development.

I strongly believe that by 2041 we will be able to appear in the world court as a developed country.

Yuhi Ando, ​​country representative of JETRO Dhaka, said that almost half of the projects in Bangladesh with foreign aid are Japanese. Moreover, due to the geographical and infrastructural management of Bangladesh, our Japanese companies are showing interest in new investments in this country. Japan has always maintained friendly relations with Bangladesh to be a partner in this glorious journey of Bangladesh’s development.

Trade Representative (Director General) of Dhaka Korea Trade Center Samsu Kim said that Korea is the fourth largest FDI partner in Bangladesh. I think that Bangladesh is an ideal area for organizing business activities and more promotion should be done with Korean companies. However, if the labor market is structured to create incentives and the foreign investment policy is further revised, other countries besides Korea will have the opportunity to come and work here.

Tapan Kanti Ghosh, senior secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, said that various agencies of the Ministry of Commerce, including NBR, BIDA, BEZA, are helping to establish local and foreign investment in the country. To this end, our ministry is thinking of making the import-export process easier and developing the Export Development Bureau. Besides, we have brought all the service providers in this process under digitalization. Our aim is to establish Bangladesh as an ideal place for investment in the world.

MCCI President Saiful Islam was also present on the occasion.