Bangladesh on Thursday said the government, led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, is ready to extend all out support to its trade partners so that Bangladesh’s image as a trading nation is brightened in the international arena.
At the discussion that preceded the MoU signing ceremony, the Bangladesh side pointed out that expansion of trade and attracting investment are among the key areas of focus of the present government in Bangladesh.
The Foreign Trade Institute of Bangladesh (BFTI) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) with a view to enhancing cooperation in the arena of trade and investment.
The signing ceremony took place at the ICDT office in Casablanca, Morocco, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Established as a subsidiary organ of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) in 1984, ICDT is mandated to work for promoting trade and investments across the OIC region.
Bangladesh Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the OIC MJH Jabed and Director General of the ICDT Latifa Elbouabdellaoui signed the MoU on behalf of the respective organization.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Morocco Sadia Faizunnesa and senior officials of the ICDT attended the signing ceremony.
The Bangladesh delegation requested the ICDT researchers to include different economic sectors and sub-sectors of Bangladesh in its research and policy advocacy portfolio.
The Bangladesh envoys thanked the ICDT authorities for its forward-looking decision to sign the MoU which stands to pave the way for exchange of ideas, professionals and institutional collaboration between BFTI and ICDT.
Both sides were upbeat that talented Bangladeshi professionals would have an opportunity to directly contribute to multifarious work programmes of ICDT.
The ICDT Director General expressed her appreciation to the Government of Bangladesh for coming forward to sign a formal MoU with ICDT.
El Bouabdellaoui noted that Bangladesh is a regular contributor to all OIC organizations including the ICDT and a very proactive Member at the different OIC forums. “The MoU signing is a historic occasion.”
She expressed her thanks to Bangladesh Permanent Mission to OIC, Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce as well as the professionals of both BFTI and ICDT for the ground work leading to the fruitful negotiation and eventual signing of the MoU.
She informed that as a recognition of Bangladesh's sustained commitment to the OIC process, her organization is considering to include Bangladesh as a pilot country in different trade promotion initiatives including designating Dhaka as a regional hub to carry out trade and investment matchmaking works of ICDT.
She also informed that the ICDT country profile on Bangladesh will be updated soon and they would initiate talks with the Government of Bangladesh to implement a trade and investment country programme for 2026-27 which would include branding, showcasing, workshop, conducting sessions on trade negotiations and trade capacity building.
Both sides expressed the hope that though it is initially operational for two years, subject to the concurrence of both parties, there would be the opportunities to expand the time horizon in future.