FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim on Wednesday said reducing communication gap through businesses could benefit both Bangladesh and Brazil.

“A new era of cooperation could be explored through a better business-to-business understanding if Bangladesh and Brazil can exploit their potentials,” Fahim said when Joao Tabajara de Oliveira, Brazilian Ambassador to Dhaka, met him at the Federation Bahaban in the city.

He said Bangladeshi businesses are eager to explore opportunities in Brazil, which is a member of the five-nation forum of emerging markets—BRICS.

BRICS comprises of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, representing 42 percent of the world’s population, 23 percent of the global GDP and 30 percent of the territory.

The FBCCI chief also stressed the need for visits of bilateral delegations, signing MoUs in various sectors and finally organising a Bangladesh-Brazil Summit. 

Fahim said the FBCCI would continue to explore potentials for more cooperation with Brazil through private sectors’ engagement, exchange of business delegations, workshops and seminars.

He said the FBCCI is working for establishing the Institute for Technical and Vocational Education and Training to create skilled manpower who can work for the industrial growth.

In response, the Brazilian Ambassador expressed his willingness to work together to upgrade its business relations with Bangladesh.

Focusing on cotton, a much needed product for Bangladesh’s textile industry, he said their cotton is much cheaper than American cotton, but the quality is almost same.

He said Bangladesh can forge cooperation in the information technology sector too, while Brazil is also producing “eco-friendly cement” for construction that does not need much water.

The Brazilian envoy said Bangladeshi businesses could benefit by visiting the Federation of Industries of the state of Sao Paulo while options are there to build partnerships in other areas, including education.

He said Brazil has a burgeoning recycling sector, an area where the two nations can explore more together.

The envoy said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had earlier told him about how Brazil can help Bangladesh to develop football.

He said the game could be considered as an effective mode of cooperation, bridging the communication gap between the two countries.

FBCCI Senior Vice-President Md Muntakim Ashraf, vice-presidents Rezaul Karim Reznu, Mir Nizam Uddin Ahmed, directors Sujib Ranjan Dash and Mehdi Ali also attended the meeting.