International Desk:
Dhaka, Sept-22,
Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina has sought US investment in the country's different promising sectors such
as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), renewable energy,
agro-processing, blue economy, tourism, and hi-tech parks.
"We invite US
investment in other lucrative sectors like ICT, renewable energy, shipbuilding,
automobile, light engineering, agro-processing, blue economy, tourism, and
knowledge-based hi-tech industries are among those," she said.
She was presenting the
keynote speech at a business roundtable joining virtually from her palace of
residence in the Lotte New York Palace here on Tuesday (New York Local Time).
The Prime Minister
hoped that the US-Bangladesh Business Council may continue to play a catalytic
role in raising the present annual bilateral trade of US$ 9 billion to higher
figures.
She also expressed her
expectation that Bangladesh's trade relations can be further strengthened with
duty-free access and other trade privileges in the US market.
The US-Bangladesh Business
Council organized the virtual roundtable titled "Bangladesh Forward: The
Frontier for Growth" in honour of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
PM's ICT Adviser Sajeeb
Ahmed Wazed spoke at the roundtable while Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen
and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam were present.
The US-Bangladesh
Business Council President Nisha Biswal, who moderated the roundtable, made
opening remarks.
US-Bangladesh Business
Council members and US and Bangladesh Business World leaders also took part in
it.
Sheikh Hasina told the
roundtable that Bangladesh has the most liberal investment policy in South Asia
and that foreign investment is protected by acts of parliament and bilateral
treaties.
The Premier added,
"The demographic dividend and our focus on developing skilled manpower
ensure that investors here get skilled human resources at competitive
wages".
She said Bangladesh's
investment is heavily on improving the infrastructure and power supply to
facilitate FDI in the mentioned and other promising sectors.
She added that the US
is, of course, the largest investor in Bangladesh with stakes in the energy,
banking, and insurance sectors.
The Premier said
Bangladesh has recognized the US's energy sector cooperation and investment, which
has contributed to building Dhaka's power generation
a capacity that is now
over 25,000 Megawatt.
"We are also
looking forward to US investment in renewable energy," she said.
The Prime Minister said
Bangladesh's ICT sector is growing fast now with a billion-dollar export to 60
countries as the US is the top destination.
The ICT industry is
expected to grow nearly five folds to reach the Five-Billion Dollar mark by 2025,
she continued.
She went on to say that
with more than 600,000 freelance IT professionals, Bangladesh is the right
place to invest in the ICT sector.
The Prime Minister said
that Bangladesh is ready to offer from its 100 Economic Zones, one exclusively
for American companies, and also invites the US
investment in its 28
High-Tech Parks.
Sheikh Hasina said
Bangladesh is also ready to commence Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations
with the US at an appropriate time.
Mentioning that the
Bangladesh-US friendship is based on common values and shared interests, she
said, "It is reflected in our expanding overall
business
relations."
The Premier said
Bangladesh will appreciate the US's support since Bangladesh will graduate from LDC
status in 2026, to enhance its global competitiveness
and expansion of its
export base.
Sheikh Hasina recalled
the launching of the US-Bangladesh Business Council on 6 April 2021, adding
that one of its first acts was to send a shipment of
COVID-19 medical
equipment to Bangladesh.
"We are constantly
improving our physical, legal and financial infrastructures, and also
connectivity as with Padma Bridge, Dhaka Metro-Rail
etc," she
continued.
In the post-COVID-19
economic recovery, the Premier said that mutual cooperation and collective
efforts are essential to attain shared prosperity.
She assured Bangladesh
Government wholehearted support to expand the economic partnership between the two
nations.
"We also expect
that the Business Council would convince the US Government to undertake
favorable economic and trade policies for Bangladesh," she said.
She went on to say,
"We consider this Council as an important partner in fulfilling our core
undertaking of improving our people's lives".
Referring to the ADB
Outlook 2019, she mentioned that Bangladesh is the fastest growing economy in
the Asia-Pacific region.
She continued that the
ADB attributes this to strong leadership, good governance, stable government,
political stability, sound macro-economic
policy and right
development priorities.
"Rapid
urbanization, increasing consumption of electricity, the rapid growth of the middle
class, growing connectivity wit
Bangladesh an
attractive investment destination," she said.
This year, the Premier
said Bangladesh is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Bangladesh's
independence and the Birth Centenary of Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman.
Noting that Bangabandhu
envisioned Bangladesh as a prosperous "Golden Bengal", free of
deprivation and economic disparity, she said, "Our
government's goal is to
realize his cherished dream."
Thus, pursuing that
goal in the last decade has resulted in much progress, and Bangladesh is being
recognized as a `Role Model of Socio-Economic development, she said.
The Prime Minister said
that the world has also recognized the strength and resilience of Bangladesh's
economy that had withstood the perils of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UN has, therefore,
this year made its final recommendation on Bangladesh's graduation from LDC
status, she said.
She added that
Bangladesh is indeed progressing well towards the vision of emerging as a
developed nation by 2041.
She also said that "Our many ongoing projects, especially the "Delta Plan 2100"
with its recovery of land, green growth, efficient use of water, are projected
to make huge contributions".
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