Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States M. Shahidul Islam has called upon the US vaccine producing companies to exercise more openness and transparency in commercial export of vaccines to developing countries.   

The Ambassador expressed hope to remain engaged with the US government and the private sector to secure adequate vaccines for the people of Bangladesh. 

While appreciating US donation of vaccines to developing countries, the envoy opined that commercial procurement of vaccines will play a more important role in vaccinating a populous country like Bangladesh.

He was addressing a virtual town-hall discussion on Tuesday which was participated by officials of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, diplomats from the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DC, and representatives from various companies such as Uber, Chevron, General Electric, MetLife, Abbott, Boeing, PepsiCo, Google, Facebook. 

President of the U.S.- Bangladesh Business Council Nisha Biswal delivered a welcome speech at the event.  

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Ambassador Islam highlighted the economic priorities of Bangladesh and how the private sector may contribute to fostering closer economic ties between the two countries.  

He emphasized enhanced bilateral cooperation to help overcome economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and advancing the Bangladesh-U.S. economic partnership, including facilitating sustainable supply chains. 

The Ambassador also urged the U.S. authorities to consider a tax moratorium on products from Bangladesh, particularly RMG, to help the Bangladesh economy.  

He extended an offer to the U.S. investors to take advantage of Bangladesh's favorable investment climate, particularly by investing in the Special Economic Zones and High-Tech Parks.

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The envoy called upon the US authorities to ease the process of obtaining H1B visa for Bangladeshi IT professionals. 

He recognized the long-standing partnership between Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Boeing and stressed enhancing cooperation between the two governments on civil aviation to consolidate the partnership between Bangladesh's national carrier and Boeing.

The envoy sought the support of US-Bangladesh Business Council in resuming direct Biman flight between Dhaka and New York.  

Ambassador Islam responded to various queries raised by the participants and assured them of all sorts of support from the Bangladesh government to establish business in Bangladesh.