Terming Bangladesh a land of opportunities, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has urged US businessmen and also the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) living in the US to invest in the country which offers an attractive and investment-friendly environment.
The BGMEA chief made the call while addressing a business roundtable held in New York recently, said a media release Thursday.
The US-Bangladesh Business Council of the US Chamber of Commerce hosted the roundtable with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and over 30 senior executives from the US and Bangladesh business communities on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
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The event was presided over by Jay R Pryor, vice-president of business development at Chevron and the council's chair of the board of directors, and Nisha Biswal, president of US-Bangladesh Business Council and senior vice-president – South Asia, international strategy and global initiatives at the US Chamber of Commerce.
Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed, ICT Affairs Adviser to the prime minister, M Shahidul Islam, Bangladesh ambassador to the US, and Md Jashim Uddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries, also attended the roundtable.
The virtual roundtable engaged high-level Bangladesh government officials as well as major US and Bangladeshi companies across sectors and supply chains as well as major Bangladeshi business associations, including the BGMEA.
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"With our ever-increasing economy, political stability and all-out effort made by our government to build infrastructures, we are now one of the most favoured countries in South Asia for trade and investment. We have favourable fiscal and non-fiscal policies for the foreign investors," Faruque said.
The BGMEA president highlighted the prospects of investment in different potential sectors, including high value-added and non-cotton textiles along with others.
Also, there are huge investment opportunities in other sectors that can substitute imports and complement industries in Bangladesh like spare parts, textile machinery, light engineering, jute, leather, pharmaceuticals, ceramics and shipbuilding, he added.